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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23956840">The Green Dragon</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmoFloofChild/pseuds/Amazhang%20Quartz'>Amazhang Quartz (EmoFloofChild)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Lego Ninjago</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 15:22:18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>35,433</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23956840</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmoFloofChild/pseuds/Amazhang%20Quartz</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon is not your normal 16 year old, he's a Ninja vigilante crime fighter who's trying to clean up his streets, one criminal at a time, due to some mugger killing his mother when he was 11. Things seem fine for Lloyd, that is until a huge development occurs; he gets sent to a boarding school.</p><p>There he learns of a twisted man who's bent on starting the Final Battle of Good and Evil. Lord Garmadon; Lloyd's Father. Lloyd finds he's destined to be the "Green Ninja," and defeat his Father, but how can he fight his own <em>Father</em>?!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Nya/Jay Walker</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hi. I'm Lloyd Garmadon. I'm a 16 year old orphan who is in a foster home. My Mom was mugged then murdered when I was 11, and ever since I've been trying to clean up my city, Ninjago's capital; New Ninjago City. I taught myself Ninjutzu, and donned a green ninja hood. On the streets, I'm known as the Green Dragon. My foster family is okay, I guess. They give me a roof over my head, and food, but they're not really family to me. They also have no clue that I'm a crime fighting vigilante, obviously. They'd flip out, and probably throw me to the crib. (Yeah, they're always threatening to do that to me, but it's fine). </p><p> </p><p>My Mom always said that my Dad died, that he had a freak accident months before I was born, but whenever I asked her what happened, she refused to answer. "I'll tell you when you're older." She'd say, but she died before she got the chance to tell me. I don't have any relatives, so I was put into the care of people like my foster family, the Tudabone's. I swear they just fostered me to have someone to use as an excuse to get out of trouble. They always blame me for things I couldn't even do. Once they had friends over, and Mr. Tudabone was grilling hamburgers, and they were slightly burned. Now, I was inside during the whole cooking process, but somehow they convinced their friends that it was my fault the burgers were burnt.</p><p> </p><p>This school year they got sick of having me around them, and have sent me to a private boarding school/dojo. They said training to be a ninja would develop character, and discipline. (The irony makes it almost funny, but I don't want to be shipped off to fend for myself). "YO, GARMADON!" Screams Brad, the Tudabone's son, banging on my room's door. "Yeah, what?" I ask, packing some kunai knives into my duffel bags. "MOM WANTS TO KNOW IF YOU'RE DONE PACKING!" He yells, and I groan. "I'll be out in a second." I say, as I pull my katana out of my drawer, set in my bag, and zip it shut.</p><p> </p><p>"Good." He says, and I'm thankful he stopped yelling. I pull my duffel bag over my shoulder, and walk towards the door. I open it, and Brad smirks. "I'm going to enjoy not having to see you everyday." He says, and I roll my eyes. "The feeling's mutual." I say, walking toward the stairs. He scoffs. "Yeah, good riddance." He says, with his signature maniacal laugh. I jog down the stairs, trying to speed up the process of getting away from these people. Mrs. Tudabone sees me, and sighs. "Thank goodness. Let's go, <strong><em>Garmadon</em></strong>."</p><p> </p><p>I nod, and walk towards the garage. Mrs. Tudabone points to the garage door. "Go over there and hit the button to open it." She snaps, and I grit my teeth. They make it very tempting to drop kick them sometimes, but I quell my anger, and push the button. She unlocks the car, and climbs into the driver seat. I open the door to the back seat, because even with just two people, they insist that I sit in the back. The ride through the city was quiet, with nothing eventful occurring. Mrs. Tudabone drives into a parking lot. "Okay, get out. I need to sign you in." She barks.</p><p> </p><p>I sigh, and get out. She walks over to a tower, which I assume is the dojo itself. It has three layers, with pagodas on each, with each layer getting thinner as it goes up. <em> How are they going to fit all their students in that small building? </em> I wonder, as I enter the school. Mrs. Tudabone zooms towards the receptionist's desk, and she talks to the woman about dropping me off. I lean against a wall, as for some reason, there are no chairs in here.</p><p>"Leave me alone!" A voice yells from somewhere nearby. I look back at Mrs. Tudabone, and then sneak away towards the voice. "Mm, no, Loser Ninja, pleh." A short, shaggy haired redhead says, to a taller boy with brown spiky hair. Normally, the concept of a short person messing with a tall person would be comical, but I get the sense that this little guy is a big deal around here. I walk over, and I sigh. "Is there a problem here?" I ask, and the short redhead pushes up his glasses.</p><p> </p><p>"This <b><em>loser</em></b> <b><em>ninja</em></b> needs to learn his place." He says, in a voice that sounds like he has a stuffed-up nose, and points at the other boy. The other boy flinches. "Please, don't get involved." He says, looking at me. I grab his wrist. "I'm not getting involved, I'm <b><em>uninvolving</em></b> you." He smiles, and I pull him away. I walk back to the receptionist's desk, right as Mrs. Tudabone turns around. "Wow, already found yourself a friend, <b><em>Garmadon</em></b>..." She mutters, and grabs my shoulder, her long nails digging into it.</p><p> </p><p>I try not to show any sign of pain, but it does sting a bit. "You're all signed in. Behave yourself." I nod, and she walks away. The spiky haired boy groans. "Yikes, not even a goodbye?" He comments, and then frowns. "S-sorry, not my business." He says, and I shrug. "She's not my Mom. She's just my guardian." I explain. "I'm a foster child. They hate me." I add, and he nods. "Um, I'm Kai. Thanks for helping me back there." He says, and I smile. "I'm Lloyd, and of course."</p><p> </p><p>He looks back at that kid. "You just made an enemy by sticking up for me though. Gene is the best student academically and in combat. Everyone is scared of him." I scoff. "The guy's like 4'3." I say, and Kai nods his head. "That's true, but that makes him closer to the Underworld." Kai says, looking concerned. I shrug. "I could probably take him." I say, with a smile. He bites his lip. "It's your funeral." Kai says. "Lloyd Garmadon?" The receptionist asks, and I turn to her. "Yes?" I ask.</p><p> </p><p>"Here's your schedule, map of the school, and key to the dorm." She says, holding a parcel out to me. I take it, and bow towards her. "Thank you." She smiles. "Feel free to come over here if you have questions." She says, and I nod. I open the package, and pull out its contents. "Which dorm are you in?" Kai asks, and I look at the key. It has a tag that says B5 on it. "Uh, B5?" I say, as a question, and he grins. "What luck! We're roomies!" He says, and I smile.</p><p> </p><p>"I can show you our room?" He suggests, and I chuckle. "That would be nice." He grabs my arm, and drags me away. After some twists and turns, and going up a flight of stairs, he stops in front of a door. "Here we are! Home sweet home." He opens the door, and I see a boy with a black emo fringe, and is built like a professional athlete. "Oh, new roommate?" The emo looking kid asks. Kai nods. "Yeah, this is Lloyd." He says, motioning to me. The emo boy stands, and holds his hand out to me. "I'm Cole. Nice to meet you." I smile, and take his hand.</p><p> </p><p>His idea of a handshake is to shake so hard that my arm might pop out of its socket. I glance at Kai, and he laughs. "Sorry, Cole doesn't know his own strength." He says, with a shrug. I frown. "How come you get picked on with a friend as strong as Cole here?" I ask, and Kai sighs. "I'm always alone when Gene messes with me. He's sneaky like that." Kai explains. Cole clenches his fists. "So, Gene was messing with you again?" He says, in a dark voice. Kai nods, and Cole groans. "You gotta stand up for yourself, Kai."</p><p> </p><p>"I know." He says, looking shameful. I set my hand on his arm. "Hey, I'll keep my eyes on you when I can." He looks up, with a smile. "Thanks." He mumbles, and  then points to a bed by the window. "You can have that bed if you want." I nod, and drop my duffel bag onto the bed. I carefully pull out my clothes, and stick them in the dresser by the foot of my bed, making sure the katana doesn't slip out. I then zip the bag up, and slide the bag under my bed.</p><p> </p><p>Kai and Cole gave me a general rundown of how things go on here. Since this is the first day of the school year, they don't have school today so that you could get settled in. Then the next morning, after breakfast, regular classes start. They end at lunchtime, and after lunch, Ninjitzu training. That ends at dinner, and that's all the classes per day. Saturday and Sunday are study days, but they made sure to clarify that it wasn't required to study on those days. So in normal teenager terms, they're free days.</p><p> </p><p>They showed me where the bathroom is, and we got ready for bed. "You're not a snorer, are you?" Kai asks, with a grin. I shrug. "I don't think so?" I say, and Cole chuckles. "We don't snore, so you don't have to worry about that." He says, with an eyebrow raise. I roll my eyes, and lay down on my bed. "Awesome, I'm going to lie down." I say, even though I am going to try to sneak out later. They nod, and lay down on their respective beds. I turn towards the window, and pull out my phone.</p><p> </p><p><em> I should probably wait a few hours until I try to sneak out. </em> I check my phone's clock, it says it's only 9:30 pm. I groan. <em> I guess I'm gonna be on my phone for awhile. </em> I sigh, and open Chirper to view some Chirps. After a few hours, I crawl out of bed, grab my duffel bag, and tiptoe over to Cole's bed, and he's out like a light. I sigh, and glance over to Kai, who seems to be asleep too. I grab the door handle, and slowly open it. "What are you doing?" I hear Kai whisper, and I turn around. He rubs his eyes, and sits up.</p><p> </p><p>"Bathroom." I whisper back, pointing out into the hall. Kai yawns. "Mm, and you need your bag to go to the bathroom?" He asks, getting out of bed. "I uh—" I frown, not being able to come up with a good excuse for the bag. Kai walks up to me. "Hey, I tried running away from here too." He says, with a sigh. I bite my lip. <em> Oh, he thinks I'm leaving permanently. </em> I look into the hallway. "You can go. I won't stop you, or tattle on you." He says, sounding resigned. I swallow, guilt eating at me, despite not doing anything.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm not running away, Kai." I say, and his eyes widen. "You-you're not?" He asks, and I smile. "I'll be back, I just have to do something… that I can't tell you about…" I say, and he scoffs. "Of course you can't tell me." He steps into the doorway, and lifts his fists, although his stance is less than good. The message rings loud and clear; "I'll fight you if you don't tell me." I groan. "Kai, I can't tell you because it will put you in danger." His lip quivers, but he lowers his eyebrows, and tenses up. "If you're going to be sneaking out, and expecting me to keep that secret, you should tell me. Please, Lloyd, if you're in trouble, I want to help."</p><p> </p><p>I set the duffel bag on the floor, and unzip it. "Fine, but you can't tell <b> <em>anyone</em></b>." I say, as I pull out my ninja hood that I hand sewed. He gasps, as I hold it to the moonlight from the window. "Is that what I think it is?" He asks, with hushed excitement. "You're the Green Dragon?!" He says, and I nod. He lowers his fists, and grins. "No wonder you said you could take Gene on…" He realizes, and I chuckle. "Yeah, that's why. But Kai, you can't tell anyone about this." He nods, looking like a bobblehead, and slides his thumb and index finger across his lips. "These lips are sealed." He gets out of the way, and swallows. "We wake up at 6 am, so be back before then." I nod.</p><p> </p><p>I sneak out to the bathroom, change into my ninja gi, hide my duffel bag in the bathroom cabinet, and sneak down the stairs. I see a guard, and duck behind a pillar. <em> Eventually I'll figure out a better route to sneak in and out of here, at least I hope so. </em> I watch him pass, and tiptoe down the stairs. One upside to this place being small is that it's easy to navigate. I spy a window, and walk over to it. I unlock it, and open it. I crawl out of it, and pull my ninja hood up. I race down the lawn, and I sigh. I slip my katana into my belt, and follow the road back to New Ninjago City. It was only a half a mile to drive here, (as it's just outside the city) so I imagine this won't take long. <em> Maybe 8 minutes? </em></p><p> </p><p>I jog along the highway, and soon I'm back in the city. I walk along the sidewalks, and check the allies and the abandoned buildings around, but I don't see anything suspicious. <em> Yet </em> . I have learned that if something <em> can </em> happen, it <em> will </em> happen. I start to head into the poorer part of the city, and check my phone. <em> It's 11:31. A perfect time for mischief. </em> I put my phone away, and I pull out one of my kunai knives. <em> The last thing I need is to explain why it looks like I got jumped. Granted, I would have been attacked, but that'd make it even harder to explain. </em> I sigh, as I pass my old apartment complex, the one Mom and I shared. Mom always said she'd make it big, and get us a nicer house in a better neighborhood. <em> If only she had… </em> I think, with a frown.</p><p> </p><p>I walk towards a store, and I see a familiar masked man using a knife to open the store's door. I grin, as this guy always tries to rob this store, only to fail. I shove him away from the door. "Buddy, what have I said about robbing this place, huh?" I ask, with a chuckle. He groans, and tries to grab his knife, but I'm faster. I kick it away, and draw my katana. He whimpers. "Please don’t hurt me, I’m just in some real trouble! Ya know me, I just need some cash, man! You won’t see me tryin’ to steal anymore, a'ight?" I nod. "As much as I wish you weren't lying, I know you are." He sighs, and raises his hand in surrender. "I’ll just sit here and wait for someone to arrest me." I chuckle. "I’m not <b><em>that</em></b> dumb." I grab his arm, and drag him to the police precinct around the corner. </p><p> </p><p>I see a cop, and nudge the would-be thief towards him. He sighs. "Hey, officer! This guy's trying to break into places again." I say. The officer scoffs. "Thanks, Dragon. Come on, you know the drill by now." He says to the unsuccessful thief, who ducks his head in shame. I wander off, and I cut 2 muggings short. I check my phone again, and I sigh. <em> 2 am. I should start my way back to the dojo. 4 hours is better than nothing, right? </em> I jog off to the dojo, backtracking through the streets until I find the highway exit that I came here from. I jog down the highway's shoulder, and I sneak to that window I exited from. <em> It's still open? You'd think they'd close it? Oh well. </em> I poke my head inside, checking for guards, and then climb in. I hear a door open from somewhere beyond the stairs, and I make a dash for the stairs, still trying to be quiet. I tiptoe up the stairs, and sneak into the bathroom.</p><p> </p><p>I change back into my pajamas, and slip my ninja gear back into the bag. I creep back into our room, and slide my bag under my bag again. I look over at Kai's bed, and he actually seems to be asleep this time. I smile, and curl up into bed. The next morning, someone barges into the room, banging a gong. I groan, and sit up with a glare. "Wake up, sleepyheads!" The man says. I notice Kai and Cole covering their ears, and Kai looks like he's considering homicide. I decide to be a good example, and get out of bed. But the man continued to assault us with gong noises. "You bang that one more time and I'll punch you in the throat." I say, opening my dresser's drawer. The man stops, and I sigh. He leaves the room, a little too quickly. Cole laughs.</p><p> </p><p>"I've never seen him move that fast before. I think you scared him." He comments with a grin. Kai chuckles. "You certainly told him off." I pull out some clothes, and shrug. "I hate loud noises, especially when I first wake up." Kai stands, and pulls out his clothes. Cole grumbles, but walks into a corner where a dressing curtain is. Kai walks up to me, and leans in. "You uh, get any sleep, after your um, thing?" He asks, in a whisper. I groan, and nod. "Not enough, but I got back here at like 2:29 this morning." He winces. "Yikes, you do that every night?" I shrug. "Somebody's gotta stop the bullies and bad guys, right?" I say, and he grins. "I would like to say, as a victim of bullying, thank you." I smile, and gently punch his arm. "Of course, man." Cole sighs, and walks over to us. We all get changed, and we go to sit down for breakfast. Not much happened, so I'll just skip narrating it. Not much happened during regular school stuff, except that Kai wasn't kidding about Gene's huge intelligence. He knew <b>EVERYTHING</b>. He practically quoted an essay length excerpt from one of our textbooks. Thankfully, I didn't fail miserably. Then we were dismissed for lunch.</p><p> </p><p>I sit down with Cole and Kai, at a circular table with 5 chairs around it. It's only us at the table, Kai said it's 'cuz it's the "loser's table." I pick up a fry, and dip it in ketchup. "So Lloyd, are you worried?" Cole asks, and I frown. "What do you mean?" I ask, and he chuckles. "Ninja training, nervous about it?" I shrug, trying to not look too confident, but also look nonchalant. "I mean, I see worry as a way of suffering twice, so I avoid doing it." Cole nods, and hits my arm. "I like that philosophy. If you do end up messing up though, you'll probably still be better than Kai here." He says, elbowing Kai, who rolls his eyes. "I'm not <b><em>that</em></b> bad, Cole. Give me a little credit." Cole smiles. "Ok, I suppose it's unfair to say that. This school has <em>way</em> too many elite ninja-in-training." I scoff. "Oh, great." I mumble, my confidence cracking under that concept. Cole shrugs. "I'm sure you'll be fine, Lloyd. You strike me as a guy who can take a hit." <em>"Take a hit"? What does that mean?</em></p><p> </p><p>I walk into the dojo, and I take a deep breath. Someone does a roll call, and when my name is called out, I hear hushed whispers from the other students. I raise my hand. "Here." I say, and all of the other students look at me like I’m moldy cheese. Either that, or they think I'm a new punching bag. I smirk. <em>Wait until they see how wrong they are.</em> I sigh, and chuckle. "Students! This is our only new student, so be respectful." Says the Sensei, smiling. He has a bamboo hat, a long white beard, and traditional Ninjagoese robes. His smile feels welcoming and familiar. <em>The </em>only<em> new student? How is that possible?</em> "Walker, why don’t you and Garmadon be sparring partners?" The Sensei asks. A redhead boy, with a scar above his eye, splitting his eyebrow, bows his head. "Hai, Sensei." The boy, Walker, says. He looks at me with a smirk. "Just want you to know, I don’t go easy on noobs." I chuckle. "Good. I love beating overconfident people." I reply, and another round of whispers run through the room.</p><p> </p><p>I sigh. <em> Is it rare for a new student to come here? </em> Walker stands, and holds his fists up. I stand too, and walk up to him. The Sensei sighs. "Walker, do me a favor and not send Garmadon to the infirmary." He says, and Walker nods. "Hai, Master." All of the kids split off with separate sparring partners, and I see Walker's fist fly towards my face as my attention is on the other students. I dodge it, and grab his wrist. I then turn his arm over, flipping him onto the floor, landing on his face. The other students stop, or maybe they never started, (wanting to see me fail), and gasp. "He took down Walker like it was nothing!" Someone, a blond boy with ice blue eyes, says. I spy Kai, who gives me a thumbs up. Cole stares, mouth agape. Walker gets up, and charges me.</p><p> </p><p>He sends a flying kick in my direction, but I side-flip out of the way. "Aw, come on!" He says, sounding irritated. I smirk, and decide to go on the offensive. I wind up a punch, and he lifts his arms to block it, but I kick his knee, sending him back down to the floor. He hobbles to his feet, holding his right leg with a wince. "Huh, not your first fight, then?" Walker says, with a smile. I lift my hands, and shrug. "Overconfidence is dangerous." He nods, and folds his hands, and bows towards me. "So it would seem." He then turns to the Sensei, and points to his knee. "Heh, you know how you said about not sending him to the infirmary? Yeah, I think <b> <em>I</em> </b> need to go to the infirmary…" I frown. "Oh, shoot, was it that bad? Sorry, man." I apologize, and he laughs.</p><p> </p><p>"Nah, man. You don't need to apologize. You took me down so quickly. Respect, my guy." He bows at me again, and the Sensei walks over with a sigh. "You're excused to go to the infirmary, Walker." I bite my lip. "Can I go with him, to make sure he gets there safely?" I ask, and Sensei shakes his head. "No, I'm sure Mr. Walker can get there by himself." Walker grumbles, but walks (with a noticeable limp), towards the door. Sensei turns to me. "If I knew that you were this far along, I would've pit you against some of our stronger students." He motions to Gene, and that blond boy. I frown, wondering how strong Gene would be in combat. <em> How am I supposed to defend as a 5'6" against a small 4'3" kid? Maybe that's why he's so strong. You can't fight someone that small! </em></p><p> </p><p>Sensei motions Gene over. <em> Hmm. I might get my butt kicked in front of the whole class. Or, I can embarrass this little bully. I think I prefer option 2. </em> Gene snickers. "Hmm, you're the kid that hangs out with the <b> <em>loser ninja</em></b>, doesn't that make <b> <em>you</em> </b> a loser too?" He says, in that odd voice of his. "We'll see who's the loser in a bit." I say, trying to sound confident. He yawns. "Ah, well, let's get this over with." He says, lifting his fists.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Gene throws a punch towards my stomach, but I catch his hand. He yanks his hand free. "You're not taking me down <b> <em>that</em> </b> easily!" He says, swinging into an uppercut heading for my chin. I bend backwards, his fist harmlessly punching air. He growls, and winds up for yet another punch. <em> It's kind of an odd fighting style. </em> I think as I yet again dodge his punch. <em> Not to mention his moves are getting sloppy. Maybe he's never needed to hold out this long? But why only punches? Surely he could incapacitate me easily if he kicks me like I did to Walker? </em> Then an idea strikes me. <em> What would happen if I were to kick him? </em> I chuckle. "You good there? You seem to be getting frustrated." I taunt, and he charges forward, arms prepping another punch.</p><p> </p><p>I plant my feet, and hold my arms up to block, and once Gene is in kicking distance, I send a high kick, hitting him in the face. He tumbles to the floor, as I pull my foot back down. I hear Kai laugh from the other end of the room. Gene whimpers, and crawls away from me. "P-please, don't hurt me anymore…" He stutters out, backing away. I scoff and fold my arms. "Leave Kai and everyone else alone, and maybe I will." He looks at Kai, and whines. "O-okay…" He fixes his glasses, and walks off to a corner, rubbing his chin. I glance back at the other students, all of their jaws are dropped, and eyes looking so wide they could burst. I smile, and walk over to Kai and Cole. "Well, that was interesting." Sensei says. "For the sake of the other students, I think you should take a breather, Garmadon."</p><p> </p><p>I bow to him sighing. "You're so cool." Kai says as I walk past to him to sit against the wall. I smile, and sit down on my knees, my head bowed. <em> If Gene's their elite ninja, this school could use some help. How could none of the students notice that he </em> exclusively <em> uses punches? There must be a piece missing. </em> After 45 minutes, (ish) Walker comes back in, seeming better, but Sensei insists he sit out for the remainder of the training. Walker sighs, and sits down next to me. "Did you take a beating, and needed to sit this lesson out too?" He asks, and I scoff. "Quite the opposite. I was <b> <em>too</em> </b> good. After you left, Sensei had me fight Gene."</p><p> </p><p>He gasps. "Aghh! I wish I could've seen that!" I chuckle. "He was actually easy to take down. He threw punches exclusively." I say, and Walker frowns. "Huh, he usually takes his opponent out in one punch. It's why he's so scary." He says, and I shrug. "I caught his first punch." I say, not trying to brag. Walker grins. "Wow, that's impressive. You must have good reflexes." I shrug. Truthfully, it's probably due to me training as a ninja since I was 11, but obviously I can't say that. "I'm Jay, by the way." Walker says, with a smile. "I feel weird being referred to by my last name." I chuckle. "Same, I'm Lloyd." He nods. "Oh, trust me, I know. I'm not going to forget the name of the guy who blew my kneecap out." My eyes widen.</p><p> </p><p>"Wait, seriously? I wasn't meaning for it to be that hard, I swear!" I frown, and look down at his leg. "How are you okay at all?" Jay pulls out a packet of tea. "Healing tea. Our nurse Mistaké has knowledge in all forms of tea." He explains, and he sighs. "I have to drink a cup of this tea a day for a week, by then my leg should be good as new." I make a mental note to stock up on that type of tea, as I'm always getting injured. "So, you're really okay?" I ask, still feeling guilty. He nods. "Yup! And I'm going to be studying your fight style so that maybe I can beat you." I grin. <em> Aw, I inspired him. </em> "Feel free to." I tell him. "You can always get better, there's never a peak." Jay raises an eyebrow. "I have to ask, have you been with Sensei Wu behind all of our backs?" I frown. "No, why would I be?" I ask.</p><p> </p><p>Jay motions to Wu, who is instructing a black haired girl dressed in red on fixing her stance. "Isn't Sensei Wu your uncle? He mentioned something like that yesterday." He asks, and an image flashes into my head; a memory. I woke up in a traditional Ninjagoese room, and Young Me heard loud noises from downstairs. Young Me slides open the door, to see that below was what looked like a monastery, and Young Me saw my mother, much younger, yelling at a man. "Y-you banished your own <b> <em>brother</em></b>, my <b> <em>husband</em></b>, Lloyd's <b> <em>Father</em></b>?!" Young me gasps. "Misako, you don't understand. He stole the Weapons of Spinjitzu; banishment was the only way to save Ninjago! You know how bad his head has been!" She groans. "He was <b> <em>trying</em></b>, Wu! <em><strong>For</strong></em> Lloyd!" Young Me walks down the stairs, and rubs his eyes. </p><p> </p><p>"Mommy, Uncle Wu?" Mom walks over, and gasps. "Lloyd honey, what are you doing up?" Young Me yawns. "I heard yelling." She sighs. "Wu, I'm sorry, but I can't stay here anymore." She picks me up. "Hey, Lloyd, we're going to take a trip, okay? Pack a bag." Little Me nods, and runs back upstairs. The scene shifts to a tea shop. "Here, honey." Mom says, holding a cup of tea out to me. "It's your favorite." Young Me takes the cup, and happily drinks it. Under Mom's breath, she mutters that it's better this way, as she pushes the tea bag away. Little Me looks at the tea, and frowns. "What's that, Mommy?" She laughs. "I already told you, it's your favorite." Young Me giggles, but now I see a more sinister tone. <em>That was Lotus Tea, known to make people forget negative memories. Mom wiped my Uncle and only family, from my head.</em> "Lloyd? Uh, hey, you there?" I hear Jay say, and I blink.</p><p> </p><p>"Yeah, sorry, you were saying something?" I say, and he frowns. "Uh, I mentioned that you were Sensei's nephew, and you got really quiet and zone out. You okay?" I take a deep breath. <em> If Mom wiped that from my memories, what else could she have taken from me? </em> I swallow. "I'm fine, I just remembered something." I say, biting my lip. <em> I need to talk to Wu alone. What did he do to my father? Why did he do it? And what are the Weapons of Spinjitzu? </em> Jay frowns. "Did I overstep? Sometimes I say things before thinking…" I shake my head. "No, you're fine. It's just, I've come to realize my life wasn't quite what I've always believed it to be." Jay opens his mouth to say something, but stops as a humanoid shadow looms over us.</p><p> </p><p>Cole, with Kai standing behind him, glance down at me and Jay. "Hey, Lloyd. Just wanted to let you know that it's dinnertime." I stand, and so does Jay. I catch Wu's eye, and I sigh. "You guys go on ahead. I need to ask Sensei something." They nod, and the three of them leave. I walk up to Wu, and clear my throat. He jumps, and chuckles. "Ah, Garmadon, I see you've mastered the art of stealth." He smiles. "Uncle." I say, trying to see if that would trigger a reaction. He flinches, and pulls me away from the leaving students. "I haven't been your uncle since you were 3." He says, remorse in his voice. I decide it's now or never to ask my questions. "Because of my father?" I ask, and he sits down on one of the mats. "Lloyd, how much do you remember from that night when your mother left with you?" I sit across from him. "I remember arguing, something about banishment, and some weapons with an odd name."</p><p> </p><p>He sighs. "More than I'd expect a three year old to remember. Then again, Misako and Garmadon are very smart—" He says. "<b><em>Were</em></b>." I interject. "They're dead." Wu frowns. "Misako is dead?!" I clench my fist. "Yeah, she got mugged and even after giving the man all of her valuables, he  <b><em>shot</em></b> her." I spit out that last bit. Wu strokes his beard. "How long has it been since she died?" He asks, sounding mournful. "I was 11. It's been 5 years." A rebellious tear drips down my cheek. "Where <b><em>were</em></b> you?" I ask, 5 years of pent up emotion flooding out. "Mom's dead, I've been living with an awful foster family, and now I find out my uncle, and my <b><em>only</em></b> living relative, is just training lousy ninja!" He folds his hands, and bows his head. "I'm sorry, Lloyd. Your mother forbade me to ever see you. You have every right to be mad at me, especially after you hear what I did to your father."</p><p> </p><p>Something in his tone calms me down enough to listen to him. "What happened to him? The way you speak of him isn't in the past tense." Wu sighs, and pulls out a tea kettle. "That's because he's still alive. Long before time had a name…" I groan. "This isn't going to be a long winded old man story, is it?" Wu pours water into the kettle. "Bear with me, this context is important. Long before time had a name, Ninjago was created by the First Spinjitzu Master using the four weapons of Spinjitzu: the Scythe of Quakes, the Nunchucks of Lightning, the Shurikens of Ice, and the Sword of Fire. Weapons so powerful, no one can handle all their power at once." He sets the kettle on a small portable stove, and turns it on. </p><p> </p><p>"When he passed away, his two sons swore to protect them. But the oldest was consumed by darkness, and wanted to possess the weapons." He swallows. "A battle between brothers broke out, and the oldest was struck down and banished to the Underworld. Peace returned, and the younger brother hid the weapons. But knowing his older brother's relentless ambition for power, he placed a guardian to protect them." He pulls his hat off, and hands me a photo. "The older brother was your father, Lord Garmadon." I look at the picture, and it has a younger Mom, standing with a much younger Wu, and another man. He has brown hair, cut very similar to mine, pale skin that could be mistaken for actually being white, and two glowing, crimson eyes. "My father is evil? Why would Mom marry him? She was a good person." Wu nods. "So was your father. His descent into madness was a slow and gradual process. She married him when he was still good." I wrap my arms around my legs, and rest my head on my knees. "My Dad is an evil mastermind, my Mom used Lotus Tea to wipe my uncle from my head, and my uncle banished my evil Dad. That's a lot to unpack." The kettle whistles, and Wu takes it off the little stove.</p><p> </p><p>"I had a feeling it would. Which is why I boiled some Calming Tea for you." He pours the tea into a blue cup, and holds it out to me. I take it, and look at it hesitantly. "This isn't Lotus Tea, right?" He picks up a box, to show that this was merely a calming tea like he said. "Just checking." I say, blowing on it to cool it down, then take a small sip. It tastes lemony, and even though I only took a small sip, my nerves relax. I make another mental note to get some of this tea for my anxiety. </p><p> </p><p>"Lloyd, I uh, I hate to dump more stress on you, but there's more to tell." Wu says, and I take a bigger sip in preparation. "You commented on how I train 'lousy' ninja, but I assure you, there is a reason." I frown. "Maybe I shouldn't have said 'lousy'..." I say, and he smiles, but it seems veiled in sadness. "There is a prophecy, that a great Evil is coming." The tea I drank starts to come back up. "You think that's my Dad." He nods. "The prophecy states the Return of a Great Evil, and it speaks of a Ninja, clothed in green, will rise up to defeat him." I smile. "Well, you already know the outcome! Good wins, and we get a cool ninja hero! Why are you frowning and shaking your head at me?" He points to me. "You're a ninja clothed in green." He says, and I frown. <em>Shoot. He doesn't know I'm the Green Dragon, right? But if what he's saying is true…</em> "I know of your night job, Lloyd." He says, as if reading my thoughts.</p><p> </p><p>I stand. "You think this Green Ninja is me? But I'm just a kid playing hero, I can't defeat a great Evil!" Wu nods. "Not yet, but you have way more power than you think you do." I scoff. "I'm only 16. You realize all I do is take down low level thugs?" He places his hand on my shoulder. "You know those 4 weapons I mentioned?" I nod. "Each of those aren't physical anymore, I destroyed them. There are 4 individuals who can wield their powers. You've seemed to have already befriended 3 of them." My eyes widen. "You mean, Kai, Jay, and Cole?" I ask, and he nods. "Yes, Kai, Master of Fire. Jay, Master of Lightning, and Cole, Master of Earth." I scratch my head. "Who's the fourth?" He sighs. "His name is Zane, Master of Ice. He's the blond boy with the inhumanly ice blue eyes you saw earlier. These four shall help you defeat your father."</p><p> </p><p>I set the cup down. "So, do I get any cool powers too?" Wu smiles, an actual one. "You, Lloyd, have all four." I freeze, and look down at my arms, terrified that they'd burst into flames. They didn't. "How come I've never had an incident with them? One of them is fire, surely I would've burned something!" Wu nods. "It manifests when you're 16, so that is why I convinced your foster family to send you here, you need to train your abilities." I blink. "Wait, I thought you said that Mom forbade you to see me!" I say, feeling confused. "Yes, and I respected her wishes, but after I learned you were the Green Dragon, I knew I had to intervene." I sigh, and run my hands through my hair. "Do Kai and everyone know about this?" He shakes his head. "Their powers are connected to yours, once you activate your Elemental Power, theirs will appear."</p><p> </p><p>"I have so many questions." I say, and he nods. "As much as I would expect, ask away." I asked him how to activate my power, and he told me the vaguest thing ever. "When you find what's holding you back." I asked if there was anymore info on this battle, and of course, the answer was no. I also asked about Kai, Jay, and Cole and this guy Zane. "Like, how am I supposed to tell them 'I have a pre-decided destiny, and by extension, so do you'?" Wu chuckles. "You seemed to get it out fine for me. If it's too challenging for you, I can tell them."</p><p> </p><p>I sigh, and shake my head. "No, I suppose I'm going to be a leader, I need to take charge." Wu squeezes my shoulder. "Just remember that you have a team for a reason, don't take the whole weight yourself." I bow my head. "Very well, Uncle Wu." He smiles. "I'm Uncle Wu to you?" I shrug. "I mean, sure what you did to my Dad was messed up as he was your older brother, but he also needed to be sealed away. So, I forgive you." He releases my shoulder and sets his hand down. "I hope I can make up for it." I smile. "As do I. It's good to actually have a real family member again." He wraps his arm around my shoulders, and guides me to the door. "Indeed. Now, you should get some dinner, and then perhaps call a meeting with the other ninja." I bow, and run down the hall to the cafeteria.</p><p> </p><p>I spy Kai, Cole, and Jay sitting at the "Loser Ninja" Table, and I scan the crowd of 15 some kids to find that other boy Wu mentioned. <em> Why not kill 2 birds with one stone, right? Getting some food, and talking about my destiny to destroy an Evil that also happens to be my Dad? Yeah, that's gonna be hard… </em> I find him, sitting off by himself. I walk up to him, and he smiles at me. "Greetings." He says, and I wave. "I uh, noticed you were sitting by yourself. You want to sit with us?" I gesture over to the others. He frowns. "Will they mind if I do?" I shake my head. "Until an hour ago, they were the loser kids. They've been isolated for some time." He grabs his tray, and stands. "Very well, I shall accompany you." We both walk over to the table, and Kai smiles.</p><p> </p><p>"Wow, Lloyd. You have a real knack at finding rejects and losers." I roll my eyes. "I actually need to speak to the four of you, Sensei's orders." I say, trying to summon my courage. Jay frowns. "I feel we should introduce ourselves to the new Loser Ninja." Zane lifts his hand to wave. "I'm Zane." I sigh, not really wanting to delay this any longer. "Alright, guys, this is Zane. Zane, this is Kai, Jay, and Cole. Now seriously, I need to talk to you." I sit down, so does Zane. I clear my throat. I start to explain what Wu had told me, answering their questions and reaching the verge of a mental breakdown. Miraculously, I managed to get everything out.</p><p> </p><p>They sit in silence for what feels like years. Jay breaks the silence. "So, we're <b> <em>not</em> </b> Loser Ninja?" He asks, and I smile. "No, I suppose not. You get to be a portion of a prophecy instead!" I wiggle my fingers dramatically, and I sigh. "Look, I know it's crazy, and I've literally met half of you guys today, but—" Kai holds his hand up. "Dude, if what you're saying is true, I can finally be cool!" His face lit up. Jay nods. "Yeah, man. How many people can say they can shoot <b>LIGHTNING</b> from their hands?!" He says, bouncing up and down in his seat. Cole chuckles. "I'm down, I feel like only a jerk would say no to saving the world." I shrug. "I guess. Um, what about you, Zane? I know we literally just met—" Zane taps his chin. "I mean, who am I to fight destiny? I sense that would not end well for me."</p><p> </p><p>I sink into my seat. "Okay, glad you're all on the same page." I look down at my dinner, not feeling too hungry. "Uh, you guys wouldn't happen to know what 'finding what holds me back' means? Uncle Wu says it's the key to unlocking my powers." Kai groans. "Gah! I hate cryptic old guy messages!" Jay says. Cole strokes his chin in thought, while Zane holds a hand to his temple. "I think it may mean a mental or emotional block. Sometimes, when you don't want something to happen, or if you don't want to do something, your brain essentially locks you out, so you can't access it." Cole sighs. "Maybe, but I mean, do you have anything that gives reservations?" I frown.</p><p> </p><p>"I mean, I suppose I should say something...if we're going to be a team, I need to be honest." Kai gasps. "You don't mean you're telling them about—?" I nod. "I have to." Jay frowns. "What is it <b> <em>now</em></b>?" He asks. "You know the Green Dragon Ninja? The vigilante?" Cole, Jay and Zane nod. I point to myself. Jay gasps. "Wha— Shut up, you're the Green Dragon?" He says, in surprise. I scratch my neck. "Yup, that's me." Zane smiles. "So that's why Jay went down so quick." Jay growls at Zane, who seems oblivious to what he said. "Let's not fight." I say, reaching my arms out, to discourage Jay's anger. Jay sighs, and nods.</p><p> </p><p>"Have you tried activating your powers?" Jay says, and I scoff. "I literally just learned about them, and how would I do that?" I ask and Kai chuckles. "Just do this!" He holds his arm out, lifting a finger gun up, and pretends to shoot at Jay. I roll my eyes. "I doubt it'd be that easy? But I suppose it's worth a shot." I lift my hand, and there is an explosion from out in the hall, followed by screams. I frown. "That wasn't me." I say, running towards the sounds of marching feet. "Where are you going?" They ask me as I reach the door. I whirl around. "There may be some injured people." I say, as I run out the door. I see staff running towards me, screaming. </p><p> </p><p>"Don't go that way!" One of them says. "Yes! Dark magic is afoot!" Another one chimes in. I shrug. <em> Maybe an actual battle will trigger my powers… </em> I ignore their warnings, and run past them. I stop at the stairs up to my dorm, because the wall next to it is blown out. Three warriors stand in the hole. They have red bamboo hats, red spalders, a chain link breastplate, and what looks like stone greaves. Their skin is black, with white face paint on them. One carries a Yari spear, another has a Kodachi sword, and the third has a Katana. I pull out a Kunai that I typically keep on me. I groan. <em> If only I could get past them, then I could have a more effective weapon! </em> I duck down, for they glance in my area. I crouch towards them, hoping to get behind them and stab them. (Yeah, I know, kind of shameful to do a backstab, but it's all I got). </p><p> </p><p>I shove the kunai into the one with the Yari's side. My knife splinters, and the blade clatters to the floor in pieces. <em> That shattered like glass!!! </em> I look at the place where I stabbed the warrior. <em> Nothing happened! It's like it's indestructible!! </em> The warrior turns around, and points his yari at me. "Koon bo wataah!" It says, in what I assume is a different language. "Any chance that just means hello?" I ask, my voice hitching. The other two turn around, and point their katana and kodachi swords at my throat. I look behind me, through the hole, only to spy two more warriors outside. "Coomb zah thaaa!" The three inside yell simultaneously, as they attack with their weapons. I close my eyes.</p><p>
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<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I let out a squeak, preparing for the blow, but all I hear are grunts. I open my eyes, to see them all on the floor, and Wu standing in the midst of them, holding a bamboo stick. "Uncle!" I say, my voice shaking more than I would like it to. He holds his hand out to me. "Lloyd, we need to get you out—where are your friends?" He asks, with a frown. "The cafeteria." He grabs my hand and runs back to the cafeteria. "What were those things?" I ask, looking back to see if those guys are following us. "The Overlord's Stone Army. They're nearly indestructible." He says, and the hairs on my neck stand up. "The  Overlord? Who's that?" Wu sighs. "I promise I'll explain, but we need to get you and your friends out of here."</p><p> </p><p>We get into the cafeteria, only to find more of those Stone Warriors. Three of them grab that black haired girl in the red robes, and start to drag her towards another hole. <em> How many explosions did they do? </em> I wonder, as I see Kai try to pry the girl free. "Let go of my sister!" He yells, resorting to punching, although the warrior laughs. He has a red helmet, has red and white face paint, and red and black armor. "Pathetic." He says, throwing Kai aside. Jay runs up to the warrior. "Let. Her. Go." He says, holding a stack of trays. The warrior ignores him. Jay hurls one of the trays, hitting the stone guy. One of the other guys picks up the tray, and flings it at Jay's face.</p><p> </p><p>His eyes roll back in his head, and he collapses. I snarl. "Hey!" Cole yells, and charges towards them, looking like a rhino in a blind rage. He runs into the one near Jay, and falls backwards, like he ran into a brick wall. <em> Or a statue. </em> I realize. I grit my teeth, and charge towards the closest warrior. "STOP HURTING MY <b> <em>FRIENDS</em></b>!!!" I roar, and I stomp my foot in frustration. The ground shakes, a fissure splits the ground under my foot, heading for the stone warrior who took down Jay and Cole. The fissure breaks off into two cracks, surrounding the stone warrior. It yells, as the ground gives out from under him, and he falls into a sinkhole. My knees buckle under me.</p><p> </p><p>"What was that, Uncle Wu?!" I ask, looking at the split in the ground under my legs. "The power of the Scythe of Quakes." He adjusts his hat. "The Elemental Power of Earth." He says, with a smile. Kai stands, and looks at me. "Hey, Lloyd? Could you do that again?" He asks, pointing to the other two who are dragging  the girl. I stand, albeit with a wobble, and close my eyes, hoping to call out whatever I just did. But all I get is zilch. I charge forward. <em> Who needs a stupid power? I'll take him down with my fists! </em> I grunt, swinging my fist into the guy's face. I brace for my hand to break, and I hear a crackle and a crunch. Only I feel no pain. I look back at the warrior, to find his head demolished. Just pieces of stone on the ground. The body falls in a heap on the floor. I yelp, not expecting that. I turn to the other one, and smirk.</p><p> </p><p>"Alright. Let her go, or I'll do what I did to your friends, and worse, to you." I lift my fists, and he whispers something in that odd language, and a purple mist envelops the warrior. I reach for him, but by the time my arm reaches the spot he was, he disappears, with the girl. "Nya!!!" Kai says, running to my side. I kick the unleveled ground, and I yell. "They got my sister!" Kai says, panicking. He starts to pace. Sensei walks over. "We have to go after them, Sensei!" Kai says, and Wu strokes his beard. "I'm afraid where that one went, we cannot go yet." I stomp my foot, and the room shakes again. Zane frowns. "I sense that the dojo's structural integrity will come crashing down if you send another one of those earthquakes through here." I bite my lip. "So no more quakes?" I say, and he nods. "That would be wise." Kai growls. "What just happened?" Cole asks, and Jay moans. </p><p> </p><p>Cole stands, holding his head. A shiver runs down my spine as I realize that he has blood pouring from his forehead. "Y-you're bleeding." I stammer out, and Cole looks down at his hand. He gasps. "Uh, Sensei—" He starts, but Wu pulls out some gauze and a roll of bandages. He starts to treat Cole and Jay's injuries. Zane walks up to me and Kai, and bows his head. "I fear I owe you an apology." He says, and I fold my arms. "For what?" He swallows. "I am supposed to be the Ninja of Ice, but I suppose the only thing I froze was me. I was useless in that fight. If I had helped, maybe your sister could've been saved." He says, looking at Kai. "<b>NYA'S GONE</b>?!" Jay says, shoving Wu and Cole out of his way. He scans the room. "No-no-no-no-no-no…" He says, as he walks over to us. "And I just finally summoned the courage to ask her out too!" He whines, as he plops onto the ground. "She saw me go out to a lunch tray! Aww, she probably thinks I'm a loser." He ducks his head.</p><p> </p><p>Kai tugs on his spiky hair, as if he were trying to pull it off. "We'll get her back, Kai." Sensei says. Kai knits his eyebrows. "We'd better." He says, his voice full of rage unheard of to me. <em> I suppose I see why he's the Fire Ninja. </em> I frown. "You said we couldn't get to where she is?" I say, confused. "I said, not <b> <em>yet</em></b>. Your father needs to activate the Dark Island of the Overlord." Cole stumbles over here. "I've never heard of such a place, Sensei." He says. Wu sighs. "That's because of the First Spinjitzu Master." I sigh, knowing another old man story is coming. Zane sits down, and looks at Wu. "What are you speaking of, Master Wu? I have no recollection of any land masses other than Ninjago." Sensei sighs. "When the First Spinjitzu Master created Ninjago, he built it with Elemental Power of Creation, which is pure light. But in every bright place has shadows, and in those shadows lie dark things."</p><p> </p><p>"This Overlord guy?" Jay asks, and Wu nods. "The embodiment of darkness, he and the First Spinjitzu Master fought for many years, and the Overlord created a dark, and unbeatable army in an attempt to defeat the First Spinjitzu Master." Kai sighs. "What happened?" He asks. "He cornered the First Spinjitzu Master, and knowing that their fight would last forever, he split Ninjago in half. The half we're on, and the Dark Island. He also created a tsunami to flood the Dark Island, so that no one could find it again." I groan. "Great, so it's impossible to get there. Unless dear old Dad somehow gets out of the Underworld and what? Swim under the sea?" Wu taps his fingers against his staff. "The thing about prophecies is never to assume anything is impossible. I'm afraid I do not know how this prophecy will unfold, but it is happening way sooner than I had hoped. It's no longer safe for you 5 here." Zane stands. "Where will we go? Surely they'll find us again?"</p><p> </p><p>Wu nods. "Come, I have something to show you." He walks up to the hole in the wall, and exits the building. I shrug at the others, and follow. We catch up with Wu who stands in a field in front of a giant rock. He taps it with his stick, and a mechanism clicks, leaving a hole in the rock. "Come on, Ninja." He says, walking inside. I step into it, only to find a long staircase leading deep into the ground. "What is this place?" Kai asks. "Your way to get out of here safely." Jay frowns. "Uh, don't you mean '<b><em>our</em></b> way'?" Wu shakes his head. "I cannot go with you. I have a Dojo to rebuild, a lot of kids to care for, and I fear the reason those warriors attacked was to flush me out." I frown. "But what if you're wrong? Or worse, separating us <em>is</em> their plan?" Sensei bows his head. "I have made my decision." He pulls out that photo he showed me earlier. "To show you how confident I am in this, take this." He slips the photo in my hand. "I don't plan to go any time soon. One day you may understand why I am doing this."</p><p> </p><p>Cole scoffs. "You can't expect us to leave you, Sensei!" Jay, Kai and Zane nod in agreement. I stick the photo in my pants' pocket. "Are you sure you have told us everything we'll need to know?" I ask, looking down the dark stairwell. "Lloyd, you aren't seriously considering leaving Master Wu here?" Zane asks. I swallow, and nod. "I don't like it, but I see his point." I take a step towards the stairs, and I feel someone touch my shoulder. I glance back, to see Kai. "Let's go save my sister." Jay grumbles, but that incentive seems to convince him as he starts down the stairs. "Listen, Cole and Zane." I say, looking at them. "If you feel like this isn't a good idea, I won't force you to come." Zane sighs. "I won't freeze up again." He clenches his fists, and steps forward. "You are a good guy, Lloyd." Cole says, and I furrow my brow in confusion. "You're willing to put up with the scariest things for people you just met. I mean, if you think this is the way to go, then I'm willing to trust you."</p><p> </p><p>I smile, and look back at Wu. "Please be safe, Uncle." I plead, and he nods. "You too, Nephew." He steps out the hole, which closes like a door, leaving us in darkness. "Great." I say, sarcastically. "Anybody got some kind of light?" Zane reaches into his pocket, and pulls out a flashlight. He turns it on, and while it doesn't give off a ton of light, it's enough to see the way down without tripping and falling. We head down, Zane in the lead, then me, Jay, Kai, and finally Cole taking up the rear. "We should hug the wall that way none of us get out of sight." Zane suggests, and we all lean up against the wall. "Wonder what's at the bottom?" Jay asks. Zane squints. "I sense a large cavern up ahead." The wall veers to the right, and we inch our way into a cavern, like Zane said. Cole whistles. "This place is huge. But how are we supposed to leave through a cavern?" Kai asks, squinting into the darkness. "I sense a large form in the middle of this cavern."</p><p> </p><p>Jay reaches his hand out. "Uh, you can? H-how?" Zane frowns. "I'm not sure, I've always had a sixth sense, I suppose you would call it." I clench my fist. "Do you sense life?" I ask, wishing Sensei told us what was down here. Zane starts to walk to the middle of the cave, taking our only light with him. "Do we follow him?" Kai whispers off to my left. I sigh. "We shouldn't leave him by himself, at least. Jay?" The sound of running feet echoes off the walls. "On it!" He says, and heads on ahead. "Wish we had another light." Cole says, from somewhere nearby. "Well, if I <b> <em>could</em> </b> summon fire right now, I <b> <em>would</em></b>." Kai says, and I grunt. "I can't just <b> <em>turn it on</em></b>. I feel like it's adrenaline based!" I shoot back, sensing the irritation in his tone. He sighs. "Chill, I'm just saying, fire would be helpful here!" I grit my teeth. <em> He doesn't understand that I have a lot on my plate… that I have the weight of the entirety of Ninjago on my shoulders! </em>"Kai, seriously, drop it!" I say, frustration getting the better of me.</p><p> </p><p>Kai scoffs. "Or what? You're as much in the dark as we are." I turn towards his voice. "Maybe so, but I have experience fighting in darkness, don't. Test. Me." Cole groans. "Is now a good time to fight? Kai, you <b> <em>really</em> </b> shouldn't antagonize him. Lloyd, I know Kai can be a pain but—" Something bashes me in the face. "Ow." I say, and Kai snickers. "Did I actually hit you?" He asks, and I reach my arm out. He grunts, and I grab hold of his shirt. He lets out a squeak, as I drag him closer. I lift my fist, and he gasps. "Lloyd!! Y-your hand!" He says, grabbing my arm holding his shirt. At first I assume he's just trying to distract me, but Cole points to my hand. I blink, realizing I could <b> <em>see</em> </b> him. I release Kai, who pats his shirt, which looks burnt around the collar. I look down at my hand, to find it on fire, with green flames.</p><p> </p><p>"Oh…" I say, backing up. "I'm so sorry, Kai!" I try to douse my hand, but to no avail. Kai chuckles. "I'm fireproof!" He says, with a grin. I scratch my chin. "You, you are?" I ask, dumbfounded. He nods, walking closer to me. Sure enough, while his shirt has seen better days, his skin was fine. "I knew your fire was connected to your anger!" He says, bouncing up and down. Cole groans. "You angered Lloyd to see if his power would manifest?" He asks, and Kai shrugs. "Yeah, basically." I frown down at my burning fist. "I could've seriously injured you, Kai." His smile fades. "Like, what if you weren't fireproof?" He bites his lip. "You're right…" He sighs. "Sorry, Nya says I'm too reckless." He looks down. I reach out with the fire-less hand, sighing. "It's okay, Kai. Just don't do that again, okay?" He nods.</p><p> </p><p>"Whoa-ho-ho! You got your fire unlocked!" Jay says, and I turn around. "Yeah, but Kai was being careless." Cole says, glaring at his friend. Kai winces. "He got it unlocked though?" He argues, and I shake my fire fist. "It may have worked this time, but next time you could actually die. I'm <b> <em>not</em> </b> going to let that happen." Kai groans. "I'm supposed to protect <b> <em>you</em> </b>, though." I shrug. "Just because some prophecy said you're to protect me does not mean I'll accept you hurting yourself." He nods, albeit with reluctance. "Okay, I'm glad we're on the same page. Now, Jay, what's ahead?" Jay chuckles. "Take a look for yourself!" He motions behind him.</p><p> </p><p>I walk forward, to see what looks like a ship. "A broken pirate ship." I say, with a blank stare. Jay grins. "Yeah, it's a little beat up, but! You're in luck, I can fix it!" I raise an eyebrow. "You?" I say, a little too dubiously. He sighs. "Okay, technically it'd be me <b> <em>and</em> </b> Zane, but yes." Zane walks over with a smile. "I believe your idea is possible, Jay." I frown. "Wait, what idea?" I ask, and Jay chuckles. "I finally get to use my mechanical engineering knowledge!" He responds, which was much of an answer. "But! We're! Underground!" Cole says, clearly repressing the urge to throw hands. Kai nods. "Cole's right, how do you expect us to get away in a boat?" Jay runs his hands together. "Ye of little faith." He pulls a wrench of some sort out of his jacket. "Watch and learn, dudes." He walks up to the ship, and gets to work on doing something. "He just has tools in his jacket?" I ask, and Cole and Kai shrug. Zane sits down, leaning against a stalagmite. "I sense this may take awhile, so might I suggest you get comfortable?" He says, and we sit down.</p><p> </p><p>"What <b> <em>is</em> </b> he doing?" Cole asks, and Jay gasps. "No! Don't tell him! I want it to be a surprise!" He says, holding a large hunk of metal. Zane sighs. "Very well then. Let me know when you need me." Zane says, and Jay nods. I scoff, as Jay leaves. "You're just gonna make us sit here and speculate?" I ask, and Zane shrugs. "If all goes as planned, this'll work." He says, in an attempt to reassure us. Kai pats my shoulder. "Hey, as much as I agree with you on this, but your fire—" I nod, looking down at my still burning fist, although it's more of a flicker. <em> I have great control over it despite this being the first time I've ever used it. It feels so natural, like it's always been there. I suppose in a way it has. </em> Cole lays on the ground. "Since we're gonna be here for a bit, we should actually get to know each other." Cole says. "Zane, and Lloyd, got  family? Well, besides your dad and Uncle, Lloyd." Zane shakes his head. "I've been an orphan my whole life." Cole frowns. I bite my lip. "My mom was murdered." I say, and all three of their jaws drop. "Oh, shoot. Sorry, man…" Cole says, and I sigh. "Nah, it's cool. What about you and Kai?" Cole sighs. "My Mom died too, um and my Dad, well…" Kai snorts. "His dad's a singer." Cole hits Kai with a deafening slap. "What have I said about talking about <b> <em>that</em></b>?!"</p><p> </p><p>Kai rubs his cheek, and Zane frowns. "What is wrong with that?" He asks, and Cole groans. "He doesn't know that I've been training to be a ninja… he thinks I'm at the Marty Oppenheimer School of Performing Arts." I shrug. "Why haven't you told him?" He runs a hand through his hair. "He expects me to follow in his footsteps, and I don't have a knack for singing or dancing, so I ran away." Zane sighs. "Kai, tell me you don't have a depressing home life." Kai looks at the pirate ship, and sniffs. "Nya's all I have… had." He says, getting choked up. I pat his knee. "We'll get her back, I promise." I say, and he nods. Cole groans. "Great, so <b> <em>none</em> </b> of us had a good childhood?" Cole says, as Jay walks up with grease on his face. "I had a good childhood. I mean, sure I lived in junkyard, but I still have my parents and stuff." Zane sighs, sounding relieved. "One of us actually had a childhood, that's assuring." Jay nods, and taps Zane's shoulder.</p><p> </p><p>"I need your smarts, Iceman." Zane stands, and follows Jay back to that ship. "Still don't understand why we're doing this underground." Cole grumbles. Zane climbs on board the ship, and walks into the bridge of the ship. "Ready, Zane!" Jay yells, dragging a tool kit from somewhere away from the ship. He looks at us. "You may wanna back up!" He laughs as we look at him bewildered. "Trust me, you need to move." He adds, suddenly serious. We stand up, and back up to where Jay is. "Okay, turn her on, Zane!" A series of mechanical whirrs resound through the cave, and the weird hunk of metal that Jay must've attached to the side starts to turn, steaming streaming from the mechanism. A loud boom of fire erupts from the bottom, lifting the ship up.</p><p> </p><p>My mouth must've been agape, because Jay smiles. "Yeah, I made a flying ship." He says, as an anchor descends in front of us. I blink in shock. "You casually whipped up repulsors?!" Cole says, sounding just as impressed as me. Jay shrugs. "My Dad taught me all I could ever hope to know about mechanical engineering." Kai smiles. "I now understand why Nya likes you." Jay walks into the anchor. "Hey! She thinks I'm funny too!" Kai laughs. Jay sighs. "Just get on the anchor." He says, and we get on it. "Pull us up, Zane!" Jay shouts, and the anchor lifts up.</p><p> </p><p>Kai, who apparently didn't get the memo to hang on, starts to slip, but Cole grabs his wrist. He pulls him back on. "Thanks." Kai breathes, looking at the ground below with a shudder. I look up. "How high up is this cavern?" Jay squints. "Zane said a good 50 yards up." Cole whistles. "So, what's the plan? I mean, we have a flying ship, but how are we getting out of here?" Cole asks, as we climb onto the ship. "The bridge has sonar, radar, <b> <em>and</em> </b> a GPS." Jay says. "Zane believes he can find a way out of here." I frown. "You didn't build in all of that, right?" Jay shrugs. "I think Nya might've been trying to build it… she mentioned that she had a project she wanted me to help with." Cole smiles. "So, a date?" Jay pulls his jacket hood up, covering his face. "S-shut up." He turns to look over the side.</p><p> </p><p>I chuckle, and sit down. Kai sits down next to me. Cole stands by Jay. "What a day… got attacked by indestructible warriors, my sister gets kidnapped, got kicked out from the only place I really saw as home, and now I'm in some cave system in a flying ship." He shakes his head. I laugh. "This is a normal day for me." I say, and he groans. "How do you handle all of this?" I itch my nose. "I never said I handle it. If I'm being honest, I'm working on adrenaline right now. Soon I'll be having a mental breakdown and a panic attack." I say, and he frowns. "Oh… then why do you do it?" He asks, and I sigh. "I don't want anyone losing their family the way I did." Kai frowns. "But you're just a kid." I swallow. "Kid or adult, I can't leave my city and country in danger."</p><p> </p><p>He wraps his arm around me. "Well, you aren't alone anymore. I'll get strong so I can help you, I promise." I smile, and he lifts his fist as if sealing his vow. "You do that, Kai." <em> Can we truly get out of this situation alive? </em> I wave the thought away. <em> No, we </em> will <em> get out of this. The prophecy says we'll win, and I </em> <b>will not</b> <em> lose any of my friends. </em> There's a thud from the front of the ship, and I stand up. A large stalactite blocks our way. Zane runs into the deck, and looks at me. "I sense we are close to the surface." I look at the stalactite, and the roof of the cavern. "And? Why are you looking at me?" I ask, but as soon as the question leaves my mouth I realize what he means. I facepalm at my own stupidity, and look at the roof. "Any tips for a new Earth Elementalist? Like maybe a clue as to what I'm supposed to be destroying?" I ask, and Zane points to the stalactite. "If you knock that off, it should be a big enough hole for us to get out."</p><p> </p><p>I roll up my sleeves. "You're putting a lot of faith in my abilities." Jay scoffs. "You punched a nearly indestructible warrior's head off his shoulders! You'll be fine." I look down at my fist, and frown. "That was adrenaline, I'm basically calmed down now." Cole grabs my shirt, and lifts me off my feet. "Come on, Shortie." He says, using one arm to carry me across the deck. <em> This is humiliating. </em> He drops me at the edge of the ship, (the bow, I think it's called) and I sigh. "Did you <b> <em>have</em> </b> to carry me?" I ask, and Cole pushes his bangs out of his eyes with a smug smile. "Show off." I mutter, as I retract my hand. <em> Just got to picture this is a stone warrior. </em> I take a deep breath. "Oh no, take your time, Greenie!" Kai yells, and Jay and Cole snicker. "Yeah, it's not like we have to save the world or anything!" Jay says, and I glare at them. "Do you want to do this?" I ask, slamming my fist against the stalactite. I hear a crackle, and I look behind me. A long crack runs down the side of it.</p><p> </p><p>Kai laughs. "You seem to have quite the temper, Lloyd." Zane observes. I roll my eyes. "You guys treat all of this like it's a game, not something serious! That's really frustrating!" I hear another crackle, and I see some dust and pebbles land on the ship. Cole frowns. "You sure being this close is a good idea? Lloyd might take down the entire cave." Zane nods. "My calculations state that this is the best way to do this. This stalactite is not a load bearing one." I nod, and I roundhouse kick it to knock it down with style. It splits apart, falling with the loudest crash I've ever heard. "Well. Let's hope there's no one else in this cave." I say, as sunshine spills into the cave. The others nod, and Zane runs back up to the bridge and the ship moves forward, and then jerks upwards. I sigh looking down at the ground below.</p><p> </p><p>I see something white among the rubble, and I frown. <em> I didn't crush someone, right? </em> Whatever it is, it squirms out of the debris, and seems unphased. It walks into the shadows where I swear I see a figure standing, with glowing red eyes. I shiver. <em> What on Earth is that?! It looks like it has four arms! </em> I start to turn around and ask to go back down to check that out, but by the time I look back at the creature, it vanishes. <em> That thing sent shivers down my spine. What could that possibly be? </em> I back away from the edge. "You good, Lloyd?" Cole asks, and I shudder. "I thought I saw something at the cavern floor." I describe the white thing, and shadow figure, but Cole chuckles. "I'm sure you're just imagining things." I nod, trying to believe him. <em> That wasn't a hallucination. Someone was there… but who? </em></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The ship lands in the Badlands. Jay climbs down towards the repulsors, claiming they only had enough structural integrity to get them out of the hole, and he'd make repairs. Zane soon joins him, leaving me, Kai, and Cole on board. "Well, what do we do while we wait for them?" I ask, and Cole grins, raising a bushy brow. "Well, we can go below deck? Check things out down there?" Kai and I shrug, not being able to argue with that. We walk down the stairs to see a mildly dusty hallway. Cole swats a cobweb away, and groans. "Yeah, it needs a deep clean." We continue down the hall, swatting webs as we go, there seems to be 4 rooms total. 1 is a training room, which is a huge relief. Another seems to be the Captain's quarters, then a big storage room, and finally, a room containing 2 bunk beds. "Who gets the room to themselves?" Kai asks. I shrug. "We'll figure out the logistics later, we should probably be checking on Zane and Jay." I say, although part of me really wants to discuss where we'll be sleeping, because I don't know if I can handle 3 roommates. 2 is enough.</p><p> </p><p>We go above deck, to see an old car parked on the road side. Jay seems to be talking to an older couple, as he and Zane drag some junk towards the repulsors. I walk to the edge, and Jay smiles at me. "Well, that seems to be all of it." The older man says. Jay nods. "Thanks, Dad." He says, and wipes some sweat off his brow. Jay's dad smiles. "Oh, you're welcome, Kiddo." The woman, presumably his mother, grabs his shoulders. "Oh, Jay, honey, make sure to come visit us soon, okay?" Jay sighs. "Alright, Ma." He says, sounding reluctant. If she senses his reluctance, she doesn't mention it. "And Zane, lovely to meet you, dear." Zane smiles. "It was lovely to meet you too, Mrs. Walker."</p><p> </p><p>She nods, and turns back towards her husband. "Come on, Ed. Jay's got a lot to do." Ed nods. "Yes, uh, fly that over to the old junkyard if ya need repairs, okay Son?" Jay gives him a thumbs up, and they climb into their car, and drive away. I climb down, and point at the fading car. "Those were your parents?" I ask, and he sighs. "Yeah… I called them a while ago, so they could get me some fuel and stronger metal for the thrusters." He scratches his ear, his freckled face looking pink. I chuckle. "They seem nice." Jay shrugs. "Yeah." He says, kneeling in front of a heap of metal by the thrusters. "This should help us stay in the air until I can find a more reliable power source." He says, pointing to the junk, and the cans of gasoline.</p><p> </p><p>I glance back at the hole, wondering if that creature is still down there. "How long do you think this will take?" I ask, and Jay grunts, holding up his fingers to count them. "50 minutes? Longer?" I bite my lip. <em>The last thing I want is to be stranded by that scary thing… especially not for an hour.</em> "Okay." I say, and walk up to Zane. "Hey, uh, that 6th Sense you have, do you think it can detect beings?" I ask, and Zane frowns. "Why? We are in the Badlands… there is no wildlife here." I swallow. "I thought I saw a dark figure down in the cave, right by the hole I created." I say, eyeing the hole, expecting something to jump out of it. Zane closes his eyes, pressing a finger to his temple. He gasps, and takes a step back. "Now that I think about it, there is something off about this area… I sense a presence."</p><p> </p><p>I groan. <em>Well, that was not the response I wanted. I was hoping it was my mind playing tricks on me.</em> "Is it dangerous?" I ask, although not really wanting the answer. Zane runs a hand through his hair, and frowns. "I don't know. It feels powerful…" I shiver. "What do we do?" He shrugs. "Keep an eye out for this creature you spoke of, and be ready for a fight?" He suggests. I nod. "You sure that there's something down there?" I ask, trying to cling to the hope that we're safe. His eyes widen, and he flings a shuriken off somewhere behind me. I jump, not expecting that, and turn my head to see a skeleton fall backwards, with Zane's shuriken embedded into its skull. I blink, as Zane walks up to the skeleton.</p><p> </p><p>I take a breath, trying to calm down. "Warn me before throwing those!!" I say, and he frowns. "But that would have alerted him." He says, as he pulls out the ninja star out with a sickening crack. "What even is this thing?" I ask, as I hear running footsteps behind us. "Whoa… nice throw, Zane." Kai says, with Jay and Cole standing behind him. "Is it dead?" Jay asks, grabbing a pair of nunchucks off his shoulder. Kai frowns. "Where'd you get those?" He points to him. Jay smiles. "They were in the pile of junk in that cave, same with those shurikens Zane has." The skeleton sits up, and I yelp. "Okay, so headshots do <b> <em>not</em> </b> take these things down…" Cole comments, holding his fists up. I look at Jay, and frown. "You uh, wouldn't happen to have a sword stashed away, would you?" I ask, as the skeleton stands.</p><p> </p><p>Jay shakes his head. "Great." I mutter. <em> At least I'm somewhat reliable with Earth Powers. But is that a good idea with the ship so close? </em> As soon as I lift my fists up, the skeleton withers away into dust. I chuckle, but then I hear an echoing cackle from inside the pit. Cole looks down into the pit, and his face pales. "Lloyd, you know that creature you said you saw?" He asks, as he points into the hole. "Whatever <b> <em>It</em> </b> is, It's coming up." Zane pulls out his ninja stars, and the cackle from before gets louder. "I'm back, Ninjago!" It yells, as it crawls out the hole. Jay scoffs. "That cavern is like 150 feet deep! You can't just climb out of that!" I grunt. "It doesn't matter <b> <em>how</em> </b> It got up here, but with a cackle like that, It can't be anything good." The figure stands, looming at a good 8 feet tall, with black skin, red eyes, and four arms.</p><p> </p><p>The figure winces, covering his face with his top right hand. "It?" The man questions. "Do I…" He waves towards his body. "Look like an 'It'?" Jay snickers. "Kinda." He responds, and I shoot him a glare. "Uh, who are you?" I ask, hoping to get some information out of him. He groans. "Darkness and torture! Has it really been <b><em>that</em></b> long?!" He bows his head. "It is I, Lord Garmadon!" I let out a very undignified squeak. <em>So</em> <b>this</b> <em>is my dad?!?!</em> Kai coughs. I take a step closer to the creepy four armed father of mine. Jay chokes. "<b><em>Lord</em></b> Garmadon?" He asks, his voice shaking a little. Father smiles. "Ah, so you <b><em>have</em></b> heard of me!" I try to summon every negative thought I've had about being an orphan, trying to summon my anger and fire.</p><p> </p><p>I see a flicker of green fire appear on my finger, and I close my eyes to focus my energy into it. I feel the warmth of the flames, and I open my eyes. "You could say that, <b> <em>Father</em></b>." I say, lifting my burning fists up, and planting my feet. He seems a little taken aback by this revelation. "Lloyd? Is—is it really you?" I growl. "Yeah, I've grown like 13 years since you last saw me." I say, spitting the words out. He laughs. "Well, put my head on a spike! What are you doing in these parts?" I throw a punch at his lower left armpit, and the surrounding area explodes into a ring of green fire. Kai frowns. "Uh, Lloyd? Is it a good idea to attack him?" Cole asks. I ignore him. "How did you get out of the Underworld?" I ask, staring into his eyes with (what I hope) is the deadliest glare he's ever seen. Father sighs.</p><p> </p><p>"Your uncle had a similar look on his face when he banished me." He lifts his four fists, and I frown. <em>A little outnumbered in the fists department.</em> "But why attack me, Lloyd? I'm your father." I scoff. "No, you're not." I say, vengeful venom pouring out of my mouth. He sighs. "What lies has my fool of a brother told you?" I kick him in the knee, and he stumbles back, stopping just before the flame wall. "He told me you were banished for taking the Weapons of Spinjitzu, and that a Great Evil is coming, and I'm supposed to beat it." Father gasps, and looks around at the flames, as if he just now realized they were there. "You're the Green Ninja of the Prophecy." He says, his face turning to a less intense shade of black. I nod, holding up my still burning fists in a defensive position. "That's right." He chuckles. "I see." He turns his back on me. "Very well then, Son—" </p><p> </p><p>"Don't call me 'Son'." I interrupt. He sighs. "That'll make it easier than." I frown, and he whirls around, holding a black blade. He swings it past my face, only missing thanks to me ducking. He laughs. "Oh, Lloyd, I wasn't attacking you." I frown, as I look up, I see my fire ring being sucked into the blade. With a devious chuckle, a dark mist appears around Father's upper left hand. A black scythe not unlike the black sword appears. "Two down, two to go." I yell, and slam my fist into the ground. Father swings the scythe into the dirt, making my quake useless. Father laughs again, not moving in the slightest. I frown, and watch as Cole barrels past me, charging Father. Zane and Jay also enter the fray, swinging nunchucks and flinging shurikens both harmless bouncing off him. He sidesteps Cole, and sighs. "Well, I would love to stay and catch up, <b> <em>Son</em></b>," he says, extra emphasis on the "son," "but I need to acquire my birthright that was taken from me." </p><p> </p><p>A black mist surrounds him, as Kai jumps over Cole and Zane, and dodges Jay's nunchucks. A large, red tornado takes his place, and Father grunts, as Kai reappears on top of him. "Whoa!" Kai says, a smile growing on his face. "That was awesome!" I run up, trying to get to Father before he tries his disappearing act again. He sighs, and points the sword at Kai. Green flame shoots out of it, right at Kai and Jay. Kai shoves Jay out of the way, and holds his arms up. "Kai!" Zane says, in a panic. After the smoke clears, Kai stands, his shirt burnt to a crisp, but is otherwise fine. I sigh, and I note his legs are shaking. "That was terrifying." He breathes. Jay stands, and looks around. "W-where did he go?" I groan. I had been so focused on Kai and Jay, I didn't think to watch him. "That presence I sensed is no longer here. He's gone." I pick up a piece of rubble from my quake, and fling it with an angry shout.</p><p> </p><p>I collapse to my knees. "He's free…" I whisper. "Lord Garmadon has escaped the Underworld." I clench my fists. "How did he even get out? And what were those weapons?" Kai asks, dusting the ashes of his shirt off. I shrug. "Who knows? Whatever it is, it can't be good." I say, unhelpfully. Zane taps his chin. "He said 2 down, 2 to go. What if he's getting all 4 Elemental Powers?" Cole bites his lip. "Yeah, Lloyd, didn't you say that there was a Sword of Fire and a Scythe of Quakes?" I nod, wishing I could just sink my head into the sand like an ostrich. "But Sensei destroyed the weapons!" I say, scratching my head. They all frown. "We need to talk to Sensei, stat." Jay says, with a worried look on his face. I stand, and look around. "Um, how?" I ask. Jay grins.</p><p> </p><p>"I can rig up some equipment to access the dojo's loudspeaker." Jay says, and Cole scoffs. "You can do <b> <em>that</em></b>?" Jay shrugs. "Yeah, it'll be easy. I think I saw some radio components among the scrap Dad brought me! Be right back!" He jogs back up to the ship, and starts to dig through the junk. Zane holds his hand up to his temple. "I sense that your thoughts are in major disarray." He comments. The rude part of me wants to snap back "no, what gave <b> <em>that</em> </b> away?!?" but my rational side wins out. "Yeah, well, having an evil Dad that you haven't seen for years attack you and almost fry your friends to a crisp will do that to you." He nods, and then turns to Kai. "Why did I become a tornado?" I blink. <em> Oh yeah. The fiery tornado. </em> Kai shrugs. "Perhaps it's a part of our powers?" Cole asks. "How did you trigger it?" Kai sighs. "I went on instinct alone. Jump around you and Zane, and then dodging Jay. I then whirled around and started spinning."</p><p> </p><p>I look up at the sky, sighing. "The sun's gonna go down soon, we should take shelter in the ship." I say, and they all nod. We get back on board to see Jay on the bridge attaching a radio like thing to the control panel. He tweaks it with a screwdriver, and I scoff. "Where does he keep those tools?" I ask, and the others shrug. "Knowing his nerdy know-how, he probably has a high-tech bag that is pocket size, and bigger on the inside." Cole says, rolling his eyes. "I may be a nerd, but at least I don't look like I'm in '<em> Your Synthetical Passion </em>'!" Jay says, walking out onto the balcony of the bridge. Cole scoffs. "Emo jokes, huh? That's the best you've got?" Cole asks. Jay shakes his head. "No, it was just the right response to that comment." He hops down, landing in a crouched position. "It's all set up, so whenever we're ready." I make a motion towards the bridge. "Lead the way, Nerd." I say, with a grin. Jay rolls his eyes, and looks at Cole. "For the record, I don't have a technological Bag Of Holding, it's a Toolbox Of Holding." He marches up to the bridge.</p><p> </p><p>Kai clears his throat. "Am I the only one who didn't understand that reference?" He asks, and Cole and I raise our hands. Zane chuckles. "Bag Of Holding, a magic item in a turn-based tabletop role-playing game known as Basilisks And Bastilles. It has near unlimited storage." He says, sounding like a dictionary definition. Kai facepalms. "Why do you know that?" He asks, and Zane sighs. "I remember everything I read." He walks up to the bridge. I follow him. "Like a photographic memory?" He nods, and goes to stand near Jay. I motion Kai and Cole, who are still looking at each other with confusion. "Come on, you two." I say, walking into the room. They sigh, and climb the steps behind me. Jay smiles at me. "Mm, I can only broadcast for a short while, so what are we going to say?" He asks and Kai groans. "Can't we just say we need to speak to Sensei?" He asks, sitting down on the console of the control panel.</p><p> </p><p>Jay shakes his head. "I doubt I could hold a signal long enough to get Sensei to talk to us. We kind of just need to give him concise info, and be done with it." I run my hands through my hair, and growl. "Can <b> <em>anything</em> </b> be simple?" Jay pats my shoulder. "Sorry, man. It's all I can do with the scarp I found." He says, sounding remorseful. I shake my head. "No, no, you did good, Jay. I was asking fate why things have to be so hard." I explain, and Kai snorts. "Is it known for responding?" I bite my tongue, using whatever is left of my willpower to not strangle him. Zane clears his throat. "Wouldn't it be most important to say that Lord Garmadon is back?" I nod, and look at Jay. "He brings up a good point, but is there a way that only he gets to hear it? So that we don't spread a panic?" Jay grabs the radio thing, and sighs. "I could theoretically tune it to Sensei's radio, with a specific frequency, but I'd need extra juice for that…"</p><p> </p><p>I facepalm, hating how much of an idiot I am. "Hey, maybe I can use my Lightning?" I suggest, and Jay's face lights up. "Yeah! That could work, but um, have you ever summoned lightning?" I shake my head. "I picked up Earth in a battle with near indestructible warriors, and Fire because Kai antagonized me, but how does one summon Lightning?" I ask, to no one in particular. We all sit in silence, trying to come up with an idea. "Magical attunement!" Jay cries, after a good 5 minutes passed. Cole groans. "Is this another nerd reference we won't get?" I wave for him to be quiet. "What are you saying, Jay?" I ask, and Jay taps the radio. "Magical attunement." He repeats. "In Basilisks And Bastilles—" Cole and Kai snicker. "In B&amp;B," Jay continues, glaring at the two of them. "there's this thing called magical attunement. If you obtain a magic item in the game, you have to sit with it, learning its ins and outs, before you can use it." Zane gasps. "You think that Lloyd holding that device will trigger his Lightning?" Jay nods.</p><p> </p><p>I eye the device. It looks like one false move could smash it to pieces. <em>Especially with my enhanced strength…</em> "You sure that's a good idea? What if I break it?" Jay shrugs. "I suppose you don't have to <b><em>hold</em></b> it, but messing with it might trigger something?" I nod, and he sets it back down on the console. I look at the small contraption, which is no bigger than a toaster, and has a bent antenna on top and with two knobs on the side. I frown, not really sure what Jay wants me to do. Kai walks out, muttering about sleep. "You can move the knobs, by the way." Jay says. "I didn't have them set up yet." I sigh, and close my eyes. <em>The last two were easy to unlock, why should Lightning be any harder?</em> I place my hand on the toaster radio, and try to focus my energy into it. Cole yawns, and walks towards the door. "I'm with Kai. I'm going to sleep." He leaves, and I shrug. <em>Better for me. Less distractions.</em></p><p> </p><p>I try to imagine the electricity flowing through my body. It gets fully dark outside, and Jay has left to work on the thrusters, Zane is meditating or something in the corner. <em> Flow into my hand. </em> I plead, for the 15,000,000th time, and I hear a spark. I jump back, and then I see a string of green lightning spinning around the machine. I laugh, and place both hands on the radio, moving the energy off to the left. <em> Kind of odd that I instinctively went with the left. Can I sense which side the battery is? </em> The lightning disappears into the machine, and I start playing with the knobs. I hear that radio crackle noise, as I keep turning the knob. After some frustrating minutes and tweaks, Uncle Wu's voice floods into the room. "—night, my student." He is saying. I pump my fist in celebration. "Did you get it?!" Zane asks, standing. I nod, as I search for a way to make it turn on. As if sensing my struggling, Zane walks out. "I'll fetch Jay." I smile, and he makes his way to the edge of the ship's deck.</p><p> </p><p>I lean against the console, and look out the window. <em> Hopefully New Ninjago City can hold on until I can get back to being the Green Dragon. </em> I sigh, and the door opens. "I'm here." Jay says, holding a drill. I stand as he pushes a button on the side of the machine which I didn't see on first inspection. Sensei's voice gets louder, and Jay sets down the drill. "Hey, Sensei? Can you hear this?" He asks, and what sounds like a yelp shoots through the speaker. "Walker? Is that you? Where are you?" He asks, due to the sound of footsteps, I assume he's pacing. Jay sighs. "I'm transmitting through your radio." Sensei chuckles. "Ah, Lloyd unlocked his—and I suppose <b> <em>your</em></b>—power?" He asks, and I clear my throat. "That's right, Uncle." I say. "Ah, Lloyd, you're there too?" He asks. "And Zane," Jay says, and Zane smiles. "but listen Sensei, I don't know how long we can stay connected for, so um, we kind of ran into Garmadon." Sensei gasps. "He's escaped?!" Zane moves closer. "Yes, he appeared when we got out of those tunnels." Sensei mutters something to himself.</p><p> </p><p>"Is everyone ok? Kai and Cole?" He asks. "They just turned in for the night." I explain. He lets out a breath he must've been holding. "Good. Is there more? I sense you have something to say." I chew on my lip. "He had a black sword and scythe." I say. "He can use my Earth and Fire…" I add, and Sensei says something like "it can't be." Zane seems to catch this too, as he taps his chin. "Do you know what these are, Master?" He asks, and Sensei sighs. "Legend states that along with the Golden Weapons, there were what are known as the Stygian Weapons, created by the Overlord." I groan. "You neglected to mention that in our history lesson…" I complain, and he clears his throat. "I didn't mention them because there has been no proof that they actually exist. They were said to have been forged for the Final Battle." I frown. "Wait a minute, isn't this fight with Lloyd supposed to be the Final Battle?!" Jay asks. "And you felt that not telling us—even if it's only alleged—that they could exist was unnecessary?! DO YOU REALIZE THAT WE COULD'VE BEEN MORE PREPARED IF WE KNEW ABOUT THEM SOONER?!" Jay yells at the radio.</p><p> </p><p>Zane grabs Jay's shoulder. "Relax, Jay. Yelling will not get us anywhere." Zane says, and I shrug. "No, he's right. Why didn't you tell us? I asked specifically so that <b><em>this</em></b> wouldn't happen!!" I say, really hating how cryptic he is. Sensei's pacing stops. "Lloyd, I know it seems like everything is going wrong, and everyone is out to get you—" "IT IS, AND THEY ARE!" I say, and he coughs. "You can't forget what's important. The past is past, the future is what you need to focus on." Sensei says, and I tug at my hair. "You're right, but I need as much info to stop my Dad as possible. What do you know about these weapons?" Sensei groans. "Not much, I have read texts that suggest they can't be held by one individual, and that if you go to the village of Stiix where the author of the texts believes they were formed, you can create a Mega-Weapon."</p><p> </p><p>I frown. "A Mega-Weapon?" Zane queries. "Like the 4 Golden Weapons which can merge to create, the Stygian Weapons can hypothetically merge and to destroy." Sensei explains. Jay groans. "And he's already halfway there! How are we supposed to destroy these weapons?" Sensei remains silent. "The Golden Weapons were destroyed by the volcano in which they were formed, I assume if you go to Stiix with the weapons, you would destroy them, although I fear it won't be easy to do that." I chuckle bitterly. "Not much has been easy so far." I say, feeling miserable. "What about your powers? You can use Earth, Fire <b> <em>and</em> </b> Lightning." Zane says. I nod. "Somehow I feel like Ice isn't easy. They've seemed to get progressively harder."</p><p><br/>"That is correct. Ice is solid but cold, it needs serious cultivation." Sensei says. Jay chuckles. "Huh, the different elements seem to follow our personalities…" I sit down on the floor. "Why do you think I thought you were the Elemental Masters of your respective elements?" Sensei asks, with a light chuckle. I frown. "Yeah, how are they supposed to unlock theirs?" I ask, tugging at my shirt's sleeve. "Through gaining their True Potentials. So the same as you, 'find out what's holding them back'." Jay sighs. "Well, that's nice and vague, but if Lloyd has to unlock <b> <em>four</em></b>, I suppose I can unlock <b> <em>one</em></b>." Jay decides. After a short round of silence, a witch-like cackle rings out. Zane walks up to the window. "That can't be good…" He says, pointing to something outside the window. Jay looks at the radio. "Uh, I think we gotta go, Sensei!" He reaches for the device, and unplugs a cord. "Very well, then—" Sensei says, getting his transmission cut off.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>"Basilisks And Bastilles" (Dungeons And Dragons) is my second favorite in universe version I've created from something in reality. The first being "Myth of Zelma: Gasp of the Feral". (Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild). </p><p>I'm not a big fan of "Your Synthetical Passion" (My Chemical Romance) but I couldn't come up with anything better.</p><p>Anyway, I'll post chapter 5 whenever, lol. It's not like many people are searching for Ninjago AU's anyway.</p><p>~Amazhang-Arwen.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I walk towards the window, to see what Zane was talking about, and I see a grey skinned girl, with glowing purple eyes, and black hair pulled into a ponytail. I squint, and I gasp. "Isn't that—?" I say, as Jay shoves me out of the way. "Nya!" He says, bolting out the door. "Wha? Jay! Wait!" I say, running after him. Zane follows behind me, and Jay runs up to Nya. "Jay, stop!" Zane says, and Jay scoffs. "It's <b> <em>Nya</em></b>! She's not going to hurt me!" Zane frowns. "Maybe not, but I sense something off about her." I scoff. "You mean other than the fact she has grey skin and <b> <em>GLOWING</em> </b> purple eyes?!?" I say, and Zane nods. "I sense traces of that presence from before." He says, and Jay sighs.</p><p> </p><p>"I'll be <b> <em>fine</em></b>, Zane. She won't hurt me!" Jay insists, right as Nya gnashes her teeth, and punches him square in the nose. He tumbles backwards, holding his nose. "Aw, <b> <em>come on</em></b>! Is this because I went out to a lunch tray?!" He yells, standing up. Zane pulls a shuriken out. "I sense that something has taken over her body." He comments, as he lifts the shuriken to throw. I grab his arm to stop him. "We need to incapacitate her without hurting her." I say, and he nods. Jay walks up to Nya again, this time in a more defensive pose. "Nya? It's me, Jay? You know me, right? I uh, asked you out?" He says, still trying to talk her out of this. She swings at him again, but he dodges. I look around the deck, trying to find a way to trap her. "Wait a second…" I mutter. <em> This was a pirate vessel, right? That means there must be a… </em> </p><p> </p><p>"There!" I say, and Zane frowns as I run to a barred hole in the middle of the deck. <em> A brig! </em> "Jay! Zane! Lure her over here!" Zane runs over to Jay to help distract her. I grab the edge of the barred hatch, and with a grunt of effort, pull the hatch open. I look back at the other two, still fending her off. "Guys, now!" I say, getting ready to slam the hatch shut once she falls in. Jay bites his lip. "Sorry to do this to you, Nya, but it's for your own <b> <em>GOOD</em></b>!" He pushes her backwards, and she lands inside the hole. She lets out a yelp. Way before my head had time to catch up, my hands slammed the hatch shut.</p><p> </p><p>Zane locks it, and I sigh. "What are we supposed to do now?" Jay looks in the hole, where Nya's snarling, and crawling on all fours like an animal. "I'm getting this ship off the ground. I'm done with surprise visits." Jay marches up to the bridge, and I yawn. Zane sits down by the hatch's lock. "Go get some sleep, I'll watch her." I frown. "You sure?" He bows his head. "Yes, go." I nod, and walk below deck. Much to my surprise, the Captain's quarters are empty. <em> Guess neither of them were greedy enough to take it… but am I greedy for sleeping in here? </em> I rub my eyes, deciding I'm too tired to walk down the corridors in search of the other room. I fell onto the bed, which wasn't super comfortable, but also felt like the best thing ever. <em> So much happened in one day. I'm exha— </em></p><p> </p><p>"Yo, wake up, Sleeping Beauty." Kai says, poking my back. I grumble, and grab his arm. "Call me that, or poke me <b> <em>ever</em> </b> again, I'll break your arm." I say, and Kai frowns. "Oh, shoot. Sorry. Forgot you are somehow less of a morning person than me somehow." I push myself up, and rub my eyes. "I have so much going on, I feel like I'm entitled to a few extra minutes." Kai chuckles. "You know what, valid point." I yawn, and crawl out of bed. "Where are we?" Kai shrugs. "I don't know, I just woke up too." I run a hand through my hair. "Well, I suppose we should go see what is going on up there?" I suggest, and he nods. "Lead the way, Greenie." I send a knife hand to his throat. "'Greenie' is also an unacceptable nickname." I say, as he wheezes.</p><p> </p><p>"That <b> <em>really</em> </b> hurt!" He says, rubbing his throat as we walk down the corridor. I shrug. "Stop making demeaning nicknames for me and I won't resort to such things." He sighs, and then I realize that he is wearing a pale blue t-shirt, now normally that'd be not strange, but Kai's shirt was burnt to a crisp yesterday. "Where did you get that shirt? We didn't exactly pack spares." I comment, and Kai chuckles. "You and I didn't, but apparently Zane did. He lent this shirt to me." I scoff. "He just <b> <em>had</em> </b> an extra shirt on him? Where did he keep it?" Kai grabs the ladder to get onto the main deck, and shrugs. "Your guess is as good as mine." He climbs up, and smirks. "Maybe he's got one of those bigger on the inside cases that Jay has?" I laugh, and climb up after him.</p><p> </p><p>"I wouldn't be surprised, honestly." I say, and then I gasp. Despite it being daytime, the sky is dark, as if there was a veil over this area. The clouds seem to shadow the area, and a mist lingers around the ship. I walk up to the edge, and look down. We appear to be floating over a village built on the water, which is dark and murky. The air is chilly, with it biting at my neck and ears. Besides the wind, all is silent. Like ghost town silent, like all of the inhabitants died of a mysterious curse type of quiet. I pull up my jacket's hood, and exhale. The breath itself leaves a visible trail through the foggy air. I notice the anchor is down, locked against a bridge. Kai walks up next to me. "This area is creepy." He remarks, with a shiver. I nod. "It feels alive." I agree, and Kai rubs his arms.</p><p> </p><p>"I hate cold weather." He mumbles, and I chuckle. "You are the Fire Master." I say, with a smile. He smiles back. "Ah, you're up then." Zane says. We turn around to see Zane, who seems to not be the least bit bothered by the chill. <em> I guess he's the Master of Ice, but still… </em> I point down towards the village below. "Where are we, exactly?" Zane walks up to Kai, and sighs. "The Village of Stiix." He leans against the edge of the ship. "Why?" Kai asks. Zane explains what Uncle Wu said about Father's Elemental Weapons. "Master Wu said that they were created in the waters of Stiix. So the logical thing to do is gather as much of the River Stiix's water. So Jay and Cole are collecting some." Kai scoffs. "Are we throwing water balloons at Garmadon's weapons?" He jokes, and Zane frowns. "Uh, no, Kai. That has a very low chance of working." Kai rolls his eyes. "That was sarcasm, Zane."</p><p> </p><p>Zane frowns. "Oh. I see." I glance over at the brig, and remember that Nya was in there. "How's our unexpected guest?" I ask, waving vaguely. Kai frowns. "Wait, what guest?" I bite my lip. "Nya." I say, and he gasps. "My sister?!? Why didn't you tell me? I wouldn't have been mad if you woke me!" Zane pats his shoulder. "She isn't all there, Kai… I think she was corrupted." Zane says, in a low voice. "<b> <em>WHAT</em></b>?! NYA, CORRUPTED?! What do you mean by that?" Zane motions him to follow him to the cage. "See for yourself." He kneels by the hatch, and Kai gasps. "Nya? It's your big brother." Kai says, and he gets an unearthly screech in response. "Aw, why did I go to sleep?!" He groans. "Nya, it's me!" He says again, and Zane shakes his head. "I'm not sure she understands or can even comprehend that you're here." I walk over, as Kai trembles.</p><p> </p><p>"Her being kidnapped was a horrifying concept, but this…" He swallows. "How can I sit here and watch my baby sister become a feral animal?" He slams his fist down on the deck, splintering the wood, and leaving his knuckles bloody. Zane gasps, and reaches for Kai's hand. Kai stands, holding his hand. "I'm fine!" He roars. Zane flinches, and I back up. "Kai, I'm sure there's a way to fix her." I say, although I'll admit that even <b> <em>I</em> </b> don't believe that. He looks at Zane. "Do you think there is a way to fix her?" He asks, his voice considerably quieter than before. Zane looks down at Nya, and sighs. "I do not know. I do not know the origin of her change…" Kai groans. "But know that I will do everything in my power to save her, Kai." He promises. "Hey, Zane!" Jay yells, from below. "Help us up, would ya?" He adds, and Zane sighs. "I'm coming." Zane says, wandering over to the anchor.</p><p> </p><p>I wrap an arm around Kai. "We'll bring her back." He scratches his ear. "How though?" He asks, and I shrug. "I don't know, but at the very least, Jay won't stop until he figures out how to save her." He chuckles. "Heh, normally I'd be pretty protective of Nya going out with anyone, but if Jay somehow figures out how to bring her back, I'll go easy on him." I smile, and nod. Cole and Jay climb on board, and I note the 5 plate size canteens attached to their hips. (Cole having 3 while Jay has 2). Jay sighs. "Great, now what?" He asks, with a frown. Everyone looks at me, which is a little disconcerting. I tap my chin. <em> What can we do? Sure, I can use three/fourths of my power, we have Stiix water, a flying ship, and an evil sister, but how are we supposed to make progress? Wu hasn't given a concrete enough direction to start in. </em></p><p> </p><p>"I suppose trying to achieve our True Potentials would be a good place to start?" Zane says, and I nod. "But you can't even <b> <em>use</em> </b> yours." I point to myself. "I have to unlock mine… Wu said Ice is going to be a challenge, and I don't even have a clue where to start." Cole pushes his bangs out of his face. "Well, Kai, Jay, and I could practice using our powers. Perhaps we should split into two groups." Jay marches up to Cole. "Are you <b> <em>crazy</em></b>?! Splitting up the party always ends badly!!" He yells, and Cole sighs. "You told me you want to explore ways to use Lightning to power our engines, and if Lloyd and Zane went in search of their Ice at the same time, surely they'll get the hang of it sooner!" <em> He's got a point there… but so does Jay. What if something happens to everyone else when I'm with Zane? Or vise versa? </em> I turn to Zane, who seems to be a voice of reason.</p><p> </p><p>"What's your opinion on this, Zane?" I ask, and Zane sighs. "It is a risky move. But perhaps if we could contact each other, and if we were in closer proximity, it would lessen the risk." I sigh. <em> I was kind of hoping he'd be less middle ground about. Like a straight "no" or "yes". </em> I groan. "Right, what's your opinion, Kai?" I ask, and he looks at his injured hand. "You're asking me, the guy that punched through solid wood and then refused to get help for my hand?" I shrug. "I'm trying to see the general consensus here." Cole frowns. "Wait, you punched wood? Why?" He asks, and Kai waves his hand dismissing it. "Doesn't matter, look, I'm pretty rash at times, <b> <em>but</em> </b> I think Cole has a good idea." I nod. "Okay, so let me see if I'm following you. You want to split up, with Jay, Kai, and you are working on your powers, while me and Zane what, go on an adventure? What exactly are you thinking we'd be doing?"</p><p> </p><p>Cole chuckles. "Zane strikes me as a 'journey of self discovery' type of guy." He says, with a snicker. Zane scratches his neck. Kai looks down at the village below. "Can we at least put this creepy village in our rear view? It's giving me a vibe I'm not quite sure I can handle for much longer." Jay nods. "Heh, yeah, I know what you mean… I'll get us out of here." He runs up to the bridge. Zane frowns. "I suppose if we are to learn how to use our Ice power, it is best to go to a cold place." He says, and Kai groans. "But Fire doesn't do well in the cold, Zane!" He whines, and I roll my eyes. "Then that'll be your challenge, Kai. Surely if you can light a fire in a cold place, other places will be much easier for you." I say, and he bows his head. "I'm starting to see your family resemblance to Master Wu." He mumbles, as he sits down next to the brig again. Cole chuckles. "So, what exactly am I supposed to be doing? Punching the ground?"</p><p> </p><p>I fold my arms. "This is your plan, Cole! Don't tell me you made a plan without knowing all of the details, especially when said missing detail is the reason we're doing this." Cole rubs his arm, and stares at his shoes. "I'll figure it out." He mutters, and walks off. "Yo, Zane! Where did you want to go?" Zane waves a goodbye to me as he runs up to where Jay is to give him the location. I watch as Stiix grows smaller in our view, and I sigh. <em> Glad we're away from that place. Hope I'll never see it again. </em> I shiver, which I assume is due to the colder air in the sky. I lift my fist, hoping to summon flames to warm myself a little. I glare at my hand, trying to will them to burn with green flame. I feel a tinge of warmth running through my veins, and I close my eyes. I imagine me collecting that warmth, and sending down my arm. I watch as a sparse fire appears in my hand. I grunt in exercision, as I feed more warmth into my hand.</p><p> </p><p>A green light shines on my face, as the flame grows stronger. I smile, and try to concentrate on keeping it lit. <em> After all, what's the harm in practicing concentration with the elements I </em> <b>can</b> <em> control while on route to unlock another one? </em> I walk over to Kai, who seems to be trying something similar, only he can only get it to spark occasionally. He growls, and drops his hand, giving up. "Hey, don't give up, Kai." I say. "Ninja never quit." Kai grunts. "Tch, since when?" I hold my fiery fist up to his face. "Failure is inevitable, but you can't quit." He looks away, and I place my normal (not fiery) hand on Kai's shoulder. "Only losers quit, you aren't a loser, right?" I add, and he lifts his fist again. <em> Well, that seemed to do the trick. </em></p><p> </p><p>"I <b> <em>will</em> </b> get this." Kai says, his voice sounding stubborn. He begins to repeat this as a mantra, his voice getting more confident and sure each time he repeats it. I glance at my own fist, to realize that it has grown in intensity. <em> Huh, I was expecting it to be flickering or gone entirely. I wasn't really paying attention to it. </em> This gives me an idea. "Trying to use brute force to bust in and squeeze out your fire won't work." I say, and he frowns. "What? Why not?" I pull and split the warmth of the flames from my left hand into my right, the fire spreading to both of my hands. "Fire is stubborn, and hard to control and contain. You need to do it in bursts, pulling more flames out each time." I close my hands, dousing the flames. Kai nods, and takes a deep breath. He lifts his hand, and closes his eyes. In his hand a scant orange flame appears on his finger. "There you go." I say encouragingly. He opens his eyes, and grins. "I did it!" He says, and he holds his finger up to his eyes, and the flame flickers, and then grows a miniscule bit.</p><p> </p><p>"I think I'm getting the hang of this!" He says, excitement in his tone. He closes his eyes again, and the flames disappear. When he opens his eyes, he groans. "I <b> <em>had</em> </b> it!!" He says, sounding frustrated again. "But now you know you can do it." I say, and he smiles. "Yeah, okay." He mutters. I walk up to the bridge, to where Zane and Jay are. "Hey, Lloyd." Jay says, with a smile. "Hi. Where are we going exactly?" Zane motions to a screen nearby. "Birchwood Forest, on the fringes of the Glacier Barrens." He says, and Jay turns to look at me. "Yeah, it's got a nice rocky mountainous area too. I'll set us down there, and you guys head off into the snowy bits below." Zane nods. I sigh, still not sold on this plan. "Alright." I say. "Do we have a way to communicate if bad things happen?" I add, and Jay points to Zane. "I used that old radio thingy to fashion a comm link, <b> <em>and</em> </b> built a tracker." I nod, and chuckle. "You're making this techie stuff sound easy." Jay shrugs. "I was raised in this 'techie stuff,' so I suppose that makes sense."</p><p> </p><p>I nod, as I see mountains ahead. "Will it be a far trip?" I ask, and Zane sighs. "If an hour long trip is long. Destiny's Bounty is a fast ship." I raise an eyebrow. "This ship has a name?" Zane frowns. "Did you not notice the name on the side?" I shrug. "To be honest, I wasn't looking for one." Jay and Zane chuckle. I sit down in a corner, and wait for the ship—the "Destiny's Bounty"—to get to this forest. I sit quietly in the corner until I feel the ship lurch down, and Jay sighs. "We're here." He says, and I stand. We land on a rocky outcropping, and Zane and I head off to do whatever we're supposed to do. I glance back at the ship, and see the name of the ship on the side. <em> Huh. And here I thought I was observant. </em> I think, as Jay starts to mess with the engine, and Cole is standing by the rock wall, scratching his head. <em> Hopefully Cole figures out what on Earth (heh, pun) he's doing. </em> I feel Zane grab my arm, and motion me down the mountain. I groan.</p><p> </p><p>I'm not out of shape, but mountain climbing was never a hobby of mine. We slowly descend down the mountain. My arms and legs were already done with life by the time we reached the bottom, but if it bothered Zane, he didn't let on. He just turns, and heads through the snow covered birch trees. A fresh layer of snow lays on the ground, and unfortunately, it's ankle height, so I have wet socks and shoes. <em> I don't even have boots! Man, we should've stayed at the school long enough to pack some essential items. Do we even have food? </em> I trudge along behind Zane, who hasn't slowed his pace at all. I grunt, and try to quicken my pace to keep up with him. We walk for ages, until we see a sign that says "Warning! Treehorns are near!" I frown, not wanting to know what a treehorn is, nor go into their territory. But Zane reads the sign, taps his chin, and keeps going ahead, beyond the sign. I sigh, seeing only disaster in our future.</p><p> </p><p>"Zane," I say, panting. "do you know where you're going?" He stops, and points up towards a tree. "I'm following that falcon." I squint, and sure enough, in the tree is a falcon. "Seriously? We're following a bird?" I ask, a little annoyed. Zane shrugs. "Sensei Wu told me once that if you are lost on where to go, follow a falcon. Plus I sense good tidings from this one." I frown, not really seeing the logic in that, but Zane isn't the type of guy to believe in things unfounded in logic. "Alright, and how long do you plan on following this bird?" He shrugs, and motions me ahead. "It's on the move again. We can't lose it!" He runs off, and I follow after him, with my legs really craving death. <em>Zane knows what he's doing. Zane knows what he's doing.</em> I keep repeating this to myself as I follow behind him. My stomach soon starts to complain and the snowfall starts to pick up, leaving me aching, hungry <b><em>and</em></b> cold. <em>The trifecta of discomfort.</em> I think miserably.</p><p> </p><p>Even now, Zane hasn't shown any signs of discomfort, and worse, of slowing down. He just seems lost in his own world. <em> Cole was joking when he said Zane struck him as the guy who would go on a journey of self discovery, but honestly, I think he was actually right. </em>I sigh, and try the falcon we're following, only to watch him fall from the sky with a cry. I frown, as Zane rushes to the bird's side. "You're, you're a robot?" He says, sounding confused. I walk up, my throat sore from panting so hard. Zane stands, holding the bird. The bird has a hole in its chest, with gears, cogs and the like inside. Zane turns it, and sees a peculiar symbol. "Do you recognize that symbol?" I ask, and he shakes his head. "It's very odd… why is this bird a robot?" I shrug. "Your guess is as good as mine." He nods, and clicks a gear back into place, and the bird caws, flapping its wings. Zane pushes the button to close the hole. The bird flies up towards the treetops, and circles the area. "I think we found whatever we were supposed to find." I comment, and Zane nods. "That would seem to be true, but what are we looking for?"</p><p> </p><p>I groan. "I was hoping you knew that!" Zane shrugs. "I do not know everything, Lloyd." <em> Could have fooled me. </em> I think, but decide to leave that comment to myself. A loud whirring noise comes from behind me. "What is that?" I ask, worried it's those Treehorns that sign warned about. Zane turns to look behind us. "Intruder alert!" A mechanical voice says, and Zane pulls his shurikens out. I whirl around to see a large sentry robot in a snowpile. He is broad shouldered, a little rusty, but with a laser cannon as an arm. I lift my fists, and I sigh. <em> I need a weapon </em> <b>soon</b> <em> . I can't solely rely on my Elemental Powers, right? </em> The droid points his laser cannon at us, and Zane only just gets out of the way. "Intruder alert!" It says again, and I charge the robot. It shoots in my direction, and being as sluggish as I am, one of the bolts clips my left arm. I grab my arm, and wince. Zane gasps, and runs over to me. "Are you okay?" I take a deep breath, my arm throbbing. I nod. "It's not my dominant hand, I'll be fine." Zane raises an eyebrow incredulously. "Very well." He says, and looks at the robot, who's charging another blast. "I think I have an idea. On my mark, send a quake that splits upwards." I give a pained nod, and he runs towards the robot. His movements are flawless, dodging and weaving around the guard's shots.</p><p> </p><p>He jumps up, holding his shurikens above his head. "Lloyd, now!" He yells, and I shoot my good arm out, imagining a rock ramp forming. When Zane lands, he runs up a rock incline I summoned, and jumps around the robot, flinging a shuriken into the back of the robot. Glass shatters, and the robot freezes. "Intr-intrud… blooop.." The robot says, as it falls forward, its head colliding with my Earth ramp, and breaking off. Zane grabs his shuriken out from the robot's back, and frowns. "This robot has that same symbol as the falcon." He remarks. I look around, wondering if there are more robots nearby. Zane also seems to be scanning the area, but then he jogs over to one of the birch trees, and runs his hand along the bark. "Someone carved that symbol into the tree." He says, and presses his hand against it. An opening appears, and a staircase leads deeper into the tree. "What is this place?" I ask, and Zane shrugs. "Jay?" He says, tapping the earpiece. He waits a second, perhaps to get a response. "Lloyd and I have found something. Come to our location on the tracker." He says, and nods. "Alright, we're going to check it out, but I figured backup may be necessary." He chuckles. "Yes, Jay. We'll be safe. We'll see you soon, alright?" He sighs, and turns to me. "You wanna see what's inside?" I nod, and we walk inside.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Woot, Chapter 5! I am very happy with this one, although not much happened in this one.  My favorite has always been Zane, so writing about this particular event that lets be real, EVERYONE knows chapter 6 will be about.</p><p>I'm trying to keep the origins and important events close to he original because a) it's easier to adapt from already created material and b) I think changing these events would be like changing the characters, so I won't do that.</p><p>Btw, I watched s9—11 two days ago, and I'll probably watch s12 sometime soon. Almost caught up! ;)</p><p>—Amazhang Quartz</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Zane and I walk in, only to see that the spiralling staircase goes down at least three layers. I sigh, as my legs still haven't forgiven me for the trip here. "Can I just rest up here?" I ask, and he nods. "Stay close, in case there is something dangerous." I look out the door, rubbing my arms. "Like those Treehorns that were warned about on that sign?" Zane nods again. "I am not familiar with a Treehorn, but I suppose they were warned about, so it’s best to keep an eye out." He reaches into his pocket, and holds out two shurikens. "Have you ever used a shuriken before?" He asks, and I grab them. "I can use them, but I prefer kunai." He shrugs. "So long as you can use them, that’s all I need to hear." I smile. He passes me the tracker and comm. "I will be going too deep for the tracker to see, or the communicator to pick up, so take them." I slip the comm onto the outer ear, and the tracker into my pocket, as I jog outside. I watch him descend into the tree, flashlight in hand. </p><p> </p><p>I climb up a nearby tree, to get a vantage point. (Also because the ground is covered in snow, and I <b> <em>do</em> </b> not want ‘wet pants’ added to my levels of discomfort). From my high ground of at least 20 feet, I can see a good portion of the forest from here. Which isn’t much, just trees and snow. But the snow has stopped, leaving it just cold and overcast. I sigh. <em> What am I supposed to do while watching for evil things and the other ninja? </em> I take a deep breath. <em> Maybe I‘ll just try to use my Ice? But what could trigger it? </em> That robot falcon flies straight towards me, cawing loudly. It crashes into me, and since I’m in a tree, I fall off the branch I was sitting on. I yelp, and flail my arms. "Stupid bird!" I say, and try to summon Earth to catch me, but I can’t think straight. <em> I’m falling out of a tree!! I’m falling out of a tree!! I’m falling out of a tree!! </em> Is all I can think in my panic.</p><p> </p><p>The sharp, cold wind doesn’t help with my situation. I look down, trying to find a branch that could catch me, or slow me down, but all of the branches on this side are too flimsy. <em> Of course they aren’t. Nothing goes in my favor. </em> I close my eyes, and turn to my side, covering my head. <em> I won’t die from this height. Sure, I’ll have some broken bones… and if I lay on my side, covering my head, I’ll minimise on the head damage. </em> I shake my head. <em> No. </em> I think. <em> I can’t just lay down and take it. I won’t give that bird the satisfaction of knocking me down! Not to mention, Zane’s relying on me to keep an eye out for monsters! </em> I growl, trying to collect my thoughts. I picture a large rock hand reaching out of the ground, and wrapping around me. I feel something<b><em>very</em> </b> cold wrap around my torso. I shudder, and look down, to see an ice sculpture wrapping itself around me.</p><p> </p><p>"Oh." I say, with a shaky, and visible, breath. "I guess that's what the Master of Ice can do." I mumble, as I imagine heat emitting from my hands. The flame comes weakly, from one finger. <em> Come on, fire. </em> I sigh as the ice melts away. I look back up at the tree I just fell out of, and squinting, I swear I see red eyes on a praying mantis like head. I swallow. <em> Maybe that bird wasn't attacking me? </em> I pull out one of the shurikens, but I realize that Ice that caught me froze whatever this thing was. I sigh, as I hear the sound of something crunching snow from the opposite side of the weird tree creature. I walk around it, to see Kai, Jay, and Cole. I let out a breath that I must've been holding, and walked up to them. "Hey, guys." I say, and Kai shivers. "It's so cold here… where's the thing that you guys found?" He asks, and I point to the tree Zane went into. "We followed a falcon, which turned out to be a robot, then another robot attacked us, and Zane spotted a symbol on this tree, and we found out that the tree is hollow, with a long staircase." I say, as I guide them to the tree. I look warily at the "not-tree", and scratch my head.</p><p> </p><p>"Oh yeah, I unlocked my ice by getting knocked out of that tree by that robot falcon I mentioned." I walk into the tree, and start down the stairs. "You fell out of a tree?!" Jay says, with concern. I shrug. "Yeah, I climbed up to see if I could spot you guys, but uh, nothing works out for me, sooo." I smile, and motion for them to follow me. The three of them look at me, perhaps inspecting for injuries. "Guys, I'm fine. Can we check on Zane now?" I say, and they all nod, and follow me down the stairs. And after like 10 flights of stairs, we reach the bottom. It's a small room, with a table on one side, a bed in another, and a stove in yet another, but that was the most of the furniture. Zane sits on the floor, with what seems like blueprints scattered around him. I walk up to him. "You okay, man?" He sighs, and stands, with one of the blueprints in his hand.</p><p> </p><p>He passes the blueprint to me, as he grabs his side. I frown, as a compartment opens up, and gears, cogs, and wires run through his chest. I gasp. "You're a robot?" Cole asks. Jay laughs. "That's awesome! You're a nindroid!" He exclaims, and Zane closes his compartment with a frown. "Hey, you realize this doesn't change anything right, Zane?" Kai says, and I nod. "Yeah, you're still our friend." Zane sighs. "You remember how I said I have been an orphan my whole life? Turns out my creator flipped my memory switch when he died… but I remember now." I smile. "That's good, right? You know who you are!" He turns away from us, and shakes his head. "All my life, I thought I was human, but… it was all a lie…" He sits back down, and flips open a chamber in his arm. "I even can turn off emotions. For instance my 'funny switch' is off." He flips a switch, and he starts to do an odd dance, at first he looks vaguely like a chicken that's crouched or maybe it's climbing up stairs.</p><p> </p><p>"Hello, my baby. Hello, my honey." Zane sings, in an odd accent. He jumps in front of Jay and waves his hands dramatically. "Hello, my ragtime gal. Send me a kiss by wireeee…" He twirls in a circle, and then shuts the switch off. Jay cracks up, and Kai and Cole seem to be holding in their laughter. I release a small snicker, as Zane sighs. "I can't go back with you guys…" He says, and Kai scoffs. "Why not?" He asks, marching up to Zane. "I am a robot—" Jay clears his throat. "<b><em>Nindroid</em></b>." He corrects. Zane sighs. "I'm a robot, I'm not like you guys… what if I don't have powers because of it?" Cole shrugs. "Who cares about powers? Or whether or not you're 'human'? You're a good guy, and an even better ninja. We're lucky to have you." He grins, and I grab Zane's arm. "Zane, I said if you thought that this was a bad idea, I wouldn't force you to come, so I won't force you. Just know that there's still room for you if you change your mind." I turn to Kai, Jay and Cole. "Right, guys?" They all nod.</p><p> </p><p>Zane walks towards the bed, and sighs. "I need to think." I nod. "We'll give you your space." Cole says, and starts to head for the stairs. I follow behind him, Jay behind me, and Kai dragging his feet behind Jay. We get to the top, and I frown. <em>Are there more trees here than they were before? </em> "Uh, guys? Why do the 20 some feet trees have red eyes??" Jay asks, pulling out his nunchucks. "Treehorns." I mumble. Cole frowns. "Tree-whats?" He asks, lifting his fists. "On our way here, we saw a sign warning about creatures called Treehorns." I say, flinging one of the shurikens at the nearest one. It howls, as I take out one of its eyes. It charges at me, but Cole grabs a long spindly leg of its, and yanks it to the ground. "Thanks." I say, and Cole gives me a thumbs up. Another charges Cole from behind, and I start to yell "watch out!" but it sends Cole flying into Jay. He yells at Cole, and Kai uses that odd tornado thing from earlier, only to become a human pinball between two Treehorns. A birch wood leg clocks me in the face, sending me into the snow. I rub my head, and woozily get to my feet, on for another to send me right back into the snow again. A warm substance spills from my nose, and I reach my hand up to see blood on my fingers. <em> Great, my nose is bleeding. </em> I think, and try to see what's happening with the other ninja. Kai lands in a heap, seeming dizzy. Jay tries to knock one down with his nunchucks, but proceeds to hit himself in the face with his own weapon. Cole is fighting off three at the same time. I grunt. <em> These things are not going to hurt my friends! </em> I pull myself to my feet. A shuriken flies past my ear, embedding itself in a Treehorn's leg.</p><p> </p><p>I turn, wiping the blood from my nose off on my sleeve. Zane stands there, with a stern look on his face. "Leave my friends alone!" He yells, and he charges. His ice blue eyes start to glow as a blue beam lifts him off of his feet. "I know who I am!" He says. The temperature drops (even more than it already has thanks to this awful icy place), as snow and ice swirl around us. One by one the Treehorns turn to ice. They howl and screech, but soon the forest is silent. I sigh, and look at Zane. "I think it's safe to say you do have your power." I comment, and he smiles. The silence is ended with the loudest screech yet, as a much larger, with more gross red eyes approaches. "Uh, what's that?" Jay asks, from the ground, and I groan. "Trouble."</p><p> </p><p>"That must be their queen." Zane says, still floating, and eyes glowing. He points the swirling storm of snow and ice at the Treehorn Queen. It lets out a shrill squeal, until the ice consumes it. Zane's floating ice beam disappears, and he starts to plummet to the ground. Cole runs under him, and catches him. "I gotcha Zane." He says, as he helps Zane get to his feet. "Is this what Master Wu meant by True Potential?" Kai asks, and I scoff. "If that isn't Zane's true potential, I don't know what is." Cole nods. "Yeah, I think we completed our task here. We should get back to the Bounty before any more of these things attack." I nod. "Yeah, um, everyone good?" I ask, and Jay pulls himself to his feet, and winces. "Agh, Lloyd, you know how you injured my knee, I think I reaggravated it." Cole chuckles. "No worries, Jay. Lean against me." He says, and Jay smiles. "Thanks, man." He says, as he wraps his right arm around Cole. I look at Kai. "You good?" Kai nods. "I'm probably gonna have a lot of bruises later, and I'm cold, but I'm good enough to walk." I nod. "Then let's move." Zane leads the way back to the ship, with his photographic memory. (Or I suppose nindroid memory… yeah, that's gonna take some time to get used to)...</p><p> </p><p>We climb aboard, and I clean my face from the bloody nose, and Zane goes to help Jay with his knee. I walk out onto deck, to see Kai looking into the brig, presumably trying to talk some sense into his sister. I sigh. <em> Poor guy. I can't imagine how he must be feeling right now. </em> Cole is on the bridge, trying to figure out how to get the ship in the air. I sit down next to Kai. "She still hasn't improved?" I ask, and he sniffs. "She seems worse if that's possible." I groan. "We'll figure something out, seriously." Kai growls. "Next time I see your dad I'm beating him to a pulp." I chuckle. "I'll hold him down for you." He chuckles, and sighs. "I feel so useless… I can't fix Nya, I can't fight to literally save my life, and I can't get my fire working!" I nudge his arm. "I can't help you in the sister department, but I can help you in the others, if you want?" He grins. "Getting lessons from the Green Dragon himself? I'd be a fool to not accept!" I laugh, and he ruffles my hair. I pat his leg. "Yeah, don't worry, I'll make a ninja out of you." Cole walks over with a snicker.</p><p> </p><p>"Good luck with that. He's very stubborn, and gets frustrated easily." Kai rolls his eyes. I shrug. "So am I." I say, and Cole shakes his head. "No, Kai's the worst. You'll be lucky if he actually picks up any of your training." He says, with a smirk. Kai glares at Cole. "Is that so?" Kai says, standing. "I'll be a better ninja than you have ever been!" He says, poking Cole's shoulder. Cole chuckles, and folds his arms. "Prove it." Kai growls. "Oh, I will." He clenches his fists. "Just you wait." He says, and I can tell that he means it. <em> Note to self, challenge gets him to be cooperative. Good to know. </em> I stand up. "Very well, Kai." I say. "Meet me in the training room in 25 minutes." I add, walking over to check on Jay. "Can I watch?" Cole asks. "I want to watch you kick his butt." <em> You do seem to be a good motivator for Kai. </em> "Sure, why not?" I say, as I walk up to Jay and Zane.</p><p> </p><p>"Hey, how are you doing, Jay?" I ask, and Jay grunts. "Zane made me an ice pack, which is kind of helping. Mistaké had said that it was likely I'd reinjure my knee, which is why she recommended the tea for a week." I nod. "Do you actually have a week's worth of it?" Jay shakes his head. "We think a shopping trip would be wise, as we don't have food or anything as well." Zane says, and I reach into my pockets. "Do we have money for something like this?" I ask, and Jay reaches into his pocket, revealing a credit card. "I inherited a lot of money from my biological dad, we'll be fine." I blink, and frown. "I thought your dad was a junkyard owner?" Jay gasps. "Oh shoot! Did I neglect to mention I was adopted by them?! My bad." Zane frowns. "You're adopted?" Jay nods. "Yup, was dumped there as a baby, learned recently that my biological dad was a famous actor who passed, and well, now I'm rich." I look at Zane. "And you're okay with the fact that your parents abandoned you?" I say, as someone who has lived without parents for 5 years, and without a father for my whole life. Jay shrugs. "Eh, Dad and Ma are the only parents I need." Zane sighs. "Well, I suppose if you're okay with that, then it's okay." He starts to walk over to the bridge. "I'll get us into the air, and set a course for the nearest village." He jogs off.</p><p> </p><p>I look at Jay, sighing. "You figure out a way to use electricity to power this?" I ask, and he grins. "Of course I did. I’ll spare the nerdy details, since you seem to dislike those." I shake my head. "Aw, I don’t <b><em>hate</em> </b> them, I don’t understand them. But for the record, I think it’s cool that you can do this techie stuff." He shrugs. "If you say so." I look back at Kai and Cole, who are heading below deck. "Do you wanna watch me help Kai with ninja stuff?" I ask, and Jay sighs. "Zane says I shouldn’t move too much." I nod, and he pulls out some blueprints from his pocket. "I uh, found these on the ground, and figured it would be a good idea to take them to study, y’know?" He says, unfolding it. "This is Zane’s blueprints, then?" I ask, and Jay nods. "Yup, and he wasn’t kidding, he has a <b> <em>LOT</em> </b> of switches for things. He has a battering ram feature, for whatever reason!" He says, pointing to a section of Zane’s arm. I chuckle. "I suppose that’s good if we get locked up or something." Jay nods. "Yeah, but why would his creator add that feature? Was he expecting something like that to happen?" I sigh. "Who knows? But uh, I should get going… Kai and Cole are probably waiting for me."</p><p> </p><p>Jay looks down at the blueprints. "Yeah, yeah, go ahead." He says, sounding out of it. I nod, and head to the training room below. <em> This should be interesting. It’s one thing to teach myself, or defeat someone, but </em> <b>teaching </b> <em> someone? That’s completely new. </em>I take a deep breath, and walk into the room, Cole sits on a stool in one corner, while Kai is punching one of the punching bags. Or rather, it was punching him. For he seems to be the one taking the damage. I clear my throat, and he turns to face me. "This thing won’t budge. I think it’s broken." Kai says, and I laugh. "It’s not the bag, Kai. You’re throwing weak punches with weaker form." I say, and he growls. "I’d like to see you try." He folds his arms, and I pull my hoodie off. "Fair enough." I say, as I slam my right fist into the bag, pulling my other arm back to add power to my blow. The bag flies off the hook. I frown. "Whoops." I say, picking it up. Kai scoffs. "That was dumb luck." I reattach the bag, and motion towards it. "You’re welcome to try again, but do remember you wanted me to help you improve." He nods, and rubs his hands together. "Yeah, warm yourself up, Fire Ninja!" Cole taunts from the corner. Kai swings towards it, with a loud cry.</p><p> </p><p>The bag moves maybe 2 or 3 centimeters, but not much more than that. He sighs, and turns to me. "Okay, what am I doing wrong?" I slip my ninja gi gloves on, and step close enough to punch it if I rotate my hips. "Watch my movements." I say, as I dig my big toe of my right foot into the ground, letting the force of it rise through my leg. I turn my hips and shoulder, leaning my torso into the punch. I strike the bag with my index and middle knuckles, to avoid any breaks in the smaller knuckles, and pull my other arm back. As I withdraw my punching arm, I pull the other back. Kai and Cole gasp. "Whoa, that looked like 10,000 steps!" Kai says, with a frown. I shake my head. "Nah, it’s only 7 steps." Cole chuckles. "You made that look so easy." He comments, and I shrug. "Practice, and memorization. Don’t worry, Kai, I’ll walk you through it." He sighs. I show him the proper stance, and what parts of his hand to use so he doesn’t break his hand or wrist in the process. "You think you understand?" I ask, and he nods. "I think so." I smile. "Go for then." He gets his fists and gets into position.</p><p> </p><p>He flings his fist at the punching bag, and connects with a wince. "Ow." I frown. "You must’ve hit it from a weaker spot of your hand." I say, and he shakes his head. "No, I hit it where you said, but um, remember when I punched the ship’s wooden deck?" I facepalm. <em> HOW DID I FORGET THAT?! </em> "Is it bruised?" I ask, and he rubs his hand. "It kind of feels like a bruise, yeah." I groan. "Sorry, Kai. I should’ve had you use your left hand, but I forgot about your injury." Kai shrugs. "It’s alright. My injury was me being dumb anyway." Cole frowns. "Again, why did you punch the ship?" He asks, and Kai looks sheepish. "I got mad, because of the situation with Nya." He says, and Cole sighs. "Well you aren’t gonna be much help to her if you beat yourself up." Cole says, and Kai nods. "But what can I do? Jay’s super smart, Zane’s apparently a nindroid, Cole could run a triathlon running across Ninjago, swimming down the Endless Sea, and cycle across the Dark Island and still be fine, and you—" He sighs. "You’re clearly strong enough to handle yourself, not to mention your leadership skills." I blink, and furrow my eyebrows. <em> Do I </em> <b>really</b> <em> have leadership skills though? </em> I think, and Cole sighs.</p><p> </p><p>"Bro, you are useful too." He says, walking over to us. "I know I tease you, but I do it out of love." Kai folds his arms, and looks away. "I know you aren’t trying to be mean, but I mean, name one benefit of having me here?" He asks, and I sigh. <em> Let’s think… What does Kai have that no one else does? Yikes, the fact that isn’t immediately popping into my mind makes me concerned. </em> "See, I’ll take your silence as a way of proving my point." Kai says, bitterly. "What about that tornado move you can do?" Cole says, with a smile. I sigh in relief. <em> Oh right, that. I’m dumb. </em> Kai scoffs. "That’s nothing…" I grab Kai’s wrist. "You’re kidding right?" He shakes his head. "I have studied many martial arts in my vigilante life, but I’ve never <b> <em>seen</em> </b> or even <b> <em>heard</em> </b> of something like that!" He frowns. "You haven’t?" I shake my head. "I honestly have no clue how one would learn such a power." I say honestly. "To be honest, I’m kind of jealous of the fact that you can do that." I add, and his face seems to light up. "Maybe there is a benefit to having me here." I smile. "You also helped unlock my fire." I say, and he bites his lip.</p><p> </p><p>"But you said that was dumb and reckless…" I nod. "And it was, but I can’t deny the fact that it did produce results." I say, and he grits his teeth. "Alright, help me get better." I grin. "That’s the spirit!" I have him use his left arm, and we run through the punch routine again, being gentle when I had him switch back and forth between his hands to send a barrage of punches at the punching bag. He starts to understand (at least so it looked) how to do the attacks properly, so I switch gears to explain some kicks. He seemed to pick those up quicker, perhaps he had a better grasp on those, or I’m getting more confident in my teaching. <em> Whichever it is doesn’t matter, I suppose… </em>I decide. Cole sighs, as he does his own training thing on the opposite side of the room. "So what’s the plan now?" He asks, as Kai and I pause for a short break.</p><p> </p><p>"Zane thinks it’s wise to get some supplies, so that is what we’re doing." I say, and Kai sighs. "Why didn’t Sensei give us any time to do any of that at the dojo?" Kai asks, and I shrug. "Guess the thought didn’t occur to him. Or maybe he expects us to be self-sufficient." I say, and Cole fake gags. "The self-sufficient thing does sound like Sensei Wu. He’d probably say ‘that it’s the way of learning about the world’ or something unnecessarily deep and cryptic." I snicker, and Kai smiles. "Wow, Cole. You sound just like him!" He says, and Cole gasps. "Take that back!" Cole says, and Kai chuckles. "Make me, Cole." Cole cracks his knuckles, and sighs. "You sure you want to go down that road?" He asks, and Kai gets in Cole’s face. "Bring it, Mud-Man." Kai says, and I push in between them. "How about we don’t?" I say, and they both groan. "You’re no fun." Cole whines.</p><p><br/>I sigh. "Yeah, well I don’t see why we should beat each other up before we have a real fight." I say, as the sound of splintered wood comes from above the lower deck. "Um, what was that?" Kai asks, and I go to the door of the room. "Not sure, but we should probably check it out." I run up to the deck, with Kai and Cole on my heels. I hear Jay yelp, and the sound of electric sparks. <em> Oh great. Another battle. Can we catch a break, Whoever is in charge of Destiny? </em> I scan the scene to see that Nya has somehow tunnelled her way out her cell, and is holding Jay over the edge by his ankle. I reach my arms out, to stop Cole and Kai from charging in. "Anything can happen, let’s see if she can be reasoned with." I whisper, as I approach her and Jay. They both nod. Nya’s head twists towards me, and she snarls. Jay whimpers as I realize her grip loosens. "One more move and he falls." She says, in a hoarse, raspy voice. I swallow, and stop moving closer. "Okay, let’s talk reasonably. Put Jay back onto the ship." I say, choosing my words carefully. She looks at Jay, and shakes her head. "He stays where he is." <em> Okay, now what? How am I supposed to save Jay and lock Nya back up..? </em></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I take a breath to calm down. "What do you want?" I ask, and she taps her chin. "My Dark Lord wants your powers over Lightning and Ice to revive the True Leader of Darkness: the Overlord himself." I look down at my hands. "I don't think I can just give you my powers… and even if I could, I wouldn't." Nya looks down at Jay, and releases her grip on Jay. He screams, and I dive to catch him. I grab at his pant leg, but he falls out of reach. "Jay!" I yell, as he grabs at a stray rope from one of the rope ladders. He whimpers. "Guess that means the date is off?" He asks, with a smile. I groan. "Jay! Now's not the time for joking around!" I scold, and he chuckles. "It's always time to joke around!" Nya sets down the nunchucks, walks over to the rope, and grabs it. "Give me your power or your friend will pay the price. I've shown how serious I am, so don't test me."</p><p> </p><p>I look down at Jay. <em>On one hand, I could give her what she wants, and Jay survives. On the other hand, Father would be able merge those Stygian Weapons into the Mega Weapon Wu mentioned…</em> I swallow. "What am I supposed to do to give them to you?" I ask, knowing I can't leave Jay for dead. Nya smirks, like she knew I would say that. "Lloyd, no!" Jay yells from the side of the hull. I sigh. "I have to, Jay. None of you are getting hurt if I can do something about it." I step closer to Nya. "Tell me, Nya. What do I do?" She chuckles. "Easy." She pulls out two shurikens and a pair of nunchucks. I frown, as they are the same black metal as the others. "Use your powers, and it'll suck them into the weapons." I groan. <em>I barely can use these two. How am I supposed to do this?</em> <b>No</b><em>. I </em><b>need</b><em> to do this.</em> I try to visualize a bolt of lightning shooting out of my fingertips. Nya groans. "What is taking you so long?" She asks, and I take a shaky breath.</p><p> </p><p>"I've only ever used both of these once. And it took me hours to get my Lightning to work, and I only used Ice to save myself from falling from a tree.. and that was an accident…" I say, trying to delay to think up a better plan. Nya holds one of the shurikens towards the rope. "Use your Lightning now or say goodbye to your friend!" I look back at Kai and Cole, the latter seems to be holding the former back. I grit my teeth. <em>What can I do to summon Lightning?</em> I grab the nunchucks, and I feel a surge of energy run down my arms. I yelp, and drop the nunchucks. Nya chuckles. "You can feel its powers, can't you?" She says, and I swallow. <em>Think, Lloyd! She's not going to tolerate this much longer!</em> I look down at my hands, to see a small green bolt shoot from my right thumb to my left thumb. <em>Wait, could I theoretically use static electricity to trigger it?</em> I shrug, as I rub my thumb against my jacket, and I see more green bolts sprouting from my fingers. I thrust my arms out in front of me, and green electricity shoots into the black metal weapon. Green energy shoots from one to the other, and Nya smirks. "See, <b><em>Greenie</em></b>! That wasn't so hard, was it?" I bite my lip, looking back at Kai and Cole.</p><p> </p><p><em>Wait. What about the water from Stiix? How could I forget about that?</em> <em>Maybe we still have a chance here.</em>  "Cole." I say, and he frowns. "I may need some water for this next part." I say, with a hopefully not too obvious wink. His eyes widen, and he nods. "I'll go grab some from our storage." He says, and walks below the deck. If Nya noticed any form of foul play, she certainly didn't say anything. "Kai, come over here." I say, as an actual plan starts to form in my head. He ducks his head, and walks up to me. "Tell me you have a plan." He whispers, and I tilt my head towards Jay. "Be ready." I mumble, and he nods. <em>Hopefully this doesn't go horribly wrong.</em> "Can I see one of those shurikens?" I ask, holding my hand out. "Maybe I'll figure out a more effective way to summon my ice that way." She squints, as if she was getting suspicious. "I just need one." I say, trying to keep my voice even despite me being on the verge of a panic attack. <em>Please, give me one. I need to seem busy trying to unlock my power so I can stall for time.</em> Kai walks up next to me, and sighs. "Look, Sis. You have two of those shurikens, and you seem to <b><em>NEED</em></b> to get both powers. Or do you want to explain why you only got half of them?" I try to hide my smile.</p><p> </p><p>"I suppose I'd still have one of them. Just no funny business!!" She passes me one of them, and I nod. "Oh no, I wouldn't pull anything while Jay's hanging from the ship." I say, to reassure her. "YEAH, SPEAKING OF THAT, I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH LONGER I CAN HANG ON HERE!" Jay yells, and I groan. <em> Great. Another variable I have on the line. </em> I look at Kai, and nod towards Jay again. He walks over to the edge, and Nya snarls at him. He raises his hands up. "Sis, chill! I'm just checking on him!" She nods, and turns to look at me. With her back to him, Kai climbs onto  the railing thing on the main deck, and grabs hold of the rope. I fiddle with the shuriken in my hand, trying to keep Nya's attention on me. Nya releases her grip on the rope as she turns to see Cole panting from my left, with a bucket of water in his hand. I look at Kai, who seems to be climbing down the rope to Jay. I eye the nunchucks, and I dive for it.</p><p> </p><p>Nya slashes the rope, but out of the corner of my eye, I see Kai's fire tornado spin over the side of the ship. Nya gasps, as Kai lands on the deck, with Jay landing on his butt. I stand up, and as I am about to shove the nunchucks into the water, the shuriken in my other hand sends a chill up my arm. I try and drop it, but as I look down at it, I realize that my hand is frozen to it. <em>I never summoned my Ice! I wasn't even thinking about that!</em> The ice on my hand starts to spread up my arm. My free hand trembles, and I lose hold of the nunchucks. Nya walks over, and picks them up. "Nice try, <b><em>Ninja</em></b>, but whatever you thought was gonna happen failed." </p><p> </p><p>I grunt, and feel that now familiar feeling of warmth from my fire. I hear the whoosh of the flames, and the sound of water splashes off of me. I growl, and fling the shuriken into the water. I hear it sizzling, and I sigh. I look at my arm, which I now notice is completely on fire. In a quick frenzy, I pat out the flames. My jacket and shirt sleeve are burned off, but other than that, I'm fine. I look back at the bucket of water, only to see it completely frozen. Nya cackles, as she scoops the bucket up. "Like I said, your plan is foiled." I groan, and I hear a sinister chuckle behind me. Kai, Cole, and Jay all form fighting stances. I frown, as I look behind me.</p><p> </p><p>"We meet again, Son." Father says. I stand up, and I lift my fists. "I thought I told you not to call me that." I say, and Father scoffs. "Why are you so ashamed of me, Lloyd?" He asks, and I scoff. "You're kidding, right? My dad being an evil villain, and wanting to destroy Ninjago? Why wouldn't I be ashamed of that?" I retort, and he sighs. "I don't wish to <b><em>destroy </em></b>Ninjago, I wish to <b><em>recreate</em></b> it." I groan. "Same thing." He walks over to Nya. "Is it the same?" He asks, taking the nunchucks from her. "Get away from her!" Both Jay and Kai yell at him. Nya sets the bucket down, places it in front of him. The nunchucks disappear in that odd mist from before, and the fire sword appears in its place. "Relax, Ninja of Fire and Ninja of Lightning. She has served her purpose." Kai clenches his fists. "Then change her back!" He says, and Father shakes his head. "She cannot be changed back. Her soul is veiled. Permanently." Jay gasps. Father shoves the fire into the frozen water. "Stiix water," he mumbles, "a nice attempt, but do you really think the Overlord wouldn't have noticed such a weakness?" The ice returns to water, and he pulls the shuriken out. Nya passes him the other one.</p><p> </p><p>"So you <b> <em>are</em> </b> working with the Overlord?" Cole says, and Father summons back the nunchucks and the scythe. "Of course I am. He will give me the strength I need to recreate Ninjago! Now I would <b> <em> love</em> </b> to keep telling you <b> <em>all</em> </b> of my plans, but I really need to go." That mist appears around him again, and I sprint up to him, and tackle him. He smirks, and sighs. "Lloyd, that won't stop me." I frown, as he disappears into the mist again. I face plant onto the deck, and don't bother to get up. "Lloyd, are you okay?" Kai asks. I lift my hand in a half-hearted thumbs up. I get lifted to my feet, and I see Cole standing over me. "I <b> <em>had</em> </b> him." I say, as all of emotional turmoil finally dying down. Cole sighs. "You did all you could." He says, and I shake my head. "Did I? My dad's got the weapons, and is probably on his way to merge them, so that he can resurrect the Overlord or whatever!" Cole nods. "Maybe, but we still have a chance to stop him." I swallow, as Jay clears his throat. </p><p> </p><p>"What are supposed to do with Evil!Nya?" He asks, and Nya roars at him, and he jumps backwards. I run my hands through my hair. "I, I don't know." I say, and Kai looks at Nya. "Sis, um, will you cooperate with us?" He asks, as he inches closer to her. "Stop calling me <b> <em>SIS</em> </b> !" She yells, still in that raspy voice. "And don't come any closer!!!" Kai raises his hands in surrender. The ship lurges downwards, and I fly forward catching myself with my arm. Nya yelps, as she tumbles over the side. "NYA!" Jay says, diving to catch her. He manages to grab her by the ankle. I released a breath I was unaware I was holding. He and Kai pull her back up onto the deck, and she looks up at Jay. "You—you <b> <em>saved</em> </b> me." She says, with surprise. Jay smiles. "Of course, Nya." She frowns. "But I just tried to kill you, and if I <b> <em>had</em> </b> fallen, you guys wouldn't have to come up with something to do with me…" Jay sighs. "Nya, I like you, and my conscience would never consider letting <b> <em>anyone</em> </b>—let alone someone I care about—die if I can avoid it." He scratches his ear. "Not to mention Kai would be devastated if you fell then. I couldn't let that happen."</p><p> </p><p>She scoffs. "Consciences are so inconvenient. Should've let me die." She says, walking away from the edge. Jay sighs, and looks down at the slowly approaching ground. Cole sighs. "I guess I'm going to talk to Zane, fill him in on the situation here…" I nod, zoning out. <em> How could she say that? I know she's corrupted and stuff, but why does she wish Jay let her die? </em> Kai seems just as taken back. He clears his throat, and walks up towards Nya. "Surely you don't seriously wish Jay didn't save you?" Nya scowls at him. "I didn't <b> <em>need</em> </b> saving!" She says, and he shrugs. "Okay, that is something that normal Nya would say." Kai says, and she grunts. "I didn't need saving because I don't even have a reason to live." Both Kai and Jay open their mouths to say something, but Nya turns to face Kai. "You heard him, my soul is veiled. I'm essentially soulless. I can't feel <b> <em>anything</em> </b> ." I frown. " <b> <em>No</em> </b>." Jay says, storming up to her. (Pardon the pun).</p><p> </p><p>"I refuse to believe that." Jay says, grabbing her arm. "Yeah, who cares what Garmadon said?" Kai adds. "We'll unveil your soul." Jay nods, and grins. "That's impossible." Nya insists, and Jay scoffs. "Even if it is, I won't give up on you." He says, sliding his hand into hers. I cough, feeling awkward just standing here. Jay turns to look at me, and he gasps. "Lloyd, what if we take Nya with us on the shopping trip? Maybe we'll find a tea to fix her!" I tap my chin. <em> I hadn't thought about that. </em> "It's worth a try. But is she going to cooperate?" I ask, looking at Nya. She folds her arms, and sighs. "You're just going to be disappointed, but I guess I'll cooperate." I nod. "Okay, are we all going?" I ask. "My logic sensors suggest that would not be wise." Zane says, as he walks up. "Zane!" Jay says, with a grin. Zane nods in acknowledgement. "I apologize for not being there for you guys. Between flying the ship, trying to find a good location to land, and getting accustomed to my um, 'nindroid' systems."</p><p> </p><p>I shake my head. "Dude, it's all good. I understand that you had a lot on your plate there, nindroid functions aside." Jay giggles. "I'm glad that my term is catching on." Nya gags, and mimes herself puking. "Puh-lease, that term is awful. I mean, if witty play on words is all you bring to the table, then why are you still here?" Jay bites his lip, and I grit my teeth. "Nya, you don't have to be mean. If you're going to cooperate with us, I need you to stop saying things like that." She tightens her ponytail, and rolls her eyes. "Whatever." She mumbles. I place a hand on Jay's shoulder. "For the record, I think 'Nindroid' is clever." I say, trying to be supportive. He smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes. Kai sighs. "Uh, Zane, you were saying that us all going would be unwise?" He says, and Jay seems relieved to have the subject changed. Zane nods.</p><p> </p><p>"Lord Garmadon has all the Weapons now. I believe we should split 3 and 3." He pauses. "One team goes to get supplies, while the other tries to find Garmadon." Zane says, and Cole frowns. "Great, who goes on which team?" Zane points to Jay and Nya. "Jay has to be on the Supply Team, as he's our income at the moment. I agree that Nya should go too, in case you do find something to return her to normal." He looks at me and Kai, with a pondering look. "I need to be on the Search Team, because nindroid." He eyes Jay, pointedly. Kai cracks his knuckles. "Can I go with you, Zane? I have some choice words for Garmadon for what he's done to my sister." Zane nods. "That is adequate. Cole and Lloyd, decide amongst yourselves which team you'd rather be on." Cole shrugs, and holds his fist out. "Rock, paper, scissors?" He suggests, and I chuckle. "Alright, the winner gets the easier job on the Supply Team." I say, lifting my hand up. He nods. "Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" He calls out, as I place my hand flat for paper. As I was hoping he placed down a closed fist for rock.</p><p> </p><p>I chuckle. "Seriously, Earth Ninja going rock?" I tease. "How obvious is that?" I add, and he laughs. "I guess that was an obvious choice. You won fair and square though, so I guess I'm going with Kai and Zane." I nod. The Bounty touches down, and I sigh. <em> I swear, I'm going to pass out from all of the things I have to do in a day. It's a never ending cycle at this point. </em> "Hey, Greenie!" Nya says, tugging on my ear. I swat her hand away, and I sigh. "What is it, Nya?" I ask, and she points to Jay, who is on the ground, zipping up a hoodie that I haven't seen before. "We need to follow the dwarf down." She says, as she hops down. I groan. "I told you to not be mean! Also, you're shorter than him!" I say, as she shrugs. "He's still a dwarf." She says, and I climb down. I walk up to Jay, and we head into the village. Nya walks alongside us, and chuckles. "Still don't understand why you guys think I should come along." I glare at her, as she's starting to get on my nerves. Town folk see us, and run away, or pull their children away. I facepalm. Somehow, despite it being obvious, I had forgotten that Nya has glowing purple eyes, and grey skin. "Again," Nya says, "why am I here?"</p><p> </p><p>Jay unzips his hoodie, and passes it to Nya. "Wear that with the hood up." He says, and she slides her arms through the sleeves. "Be glad blue is my color." She mutters, as she zips it up, and throws her hood up. I look at Jay. "Where'd you get that hoodie?" I ask, and he sighs. "My 'bag of holding.'" He mumbles, and I smile. "Did you bring it? 'Cause that will definitely come in handy." Jay reaches into his pants pocket, and holds up a small metal cube. "It's a small version, meaning it can hold less, but it'll work for our needs." I nod. We keep walking until we find a store. Zane had compiled a list of things we needed, and most of it was in that first store. Except the healing tea, and the experimental tea that Zane thought might help Nya. Jay pays for the supplies, and asks if this village has a tea shop. The shop clerk told him that if he were to follow the road until he reached a crossroads, on the left side should be a tea shop. He thanks him, and we head on our way to that aforementioned tea shop.</p><p> </p><p>The name of the Tea Shop hangs from a wooden sign in white above the door. <em> It's called the "Brew-Tea-Full"? Yikes, double pun. </em> We walk inside, and Nya sighs. The shop has shelves surrounding a small counter, with only a desk lamp for light. Behind the counter is an opening for a back room. "Maybe I should stay outside…" She says, but Jay grabs her wrist. "It'll be okay, Nya." He says, and she rolls her eyes. "Fine. But I still think you're wasting your time on me." An old lady walks out, and smiles. "Ah, hello, young ones." Jay smiles, and walks up to her. "Hi, yes, do you have any of these teas in stock?" He asks, handing her the list. She reads it out, and nods. "Give me second, dearie." She walks into the back room, and I bite my lip. We all stand there in silence for what feels like hours, until the lady comes back with the tea. "This is the Healing Tea," she says, holding a bag of tea leaves, "and this is the Rejuvenation Tea." Jay smiles, as she puts them in a bag.</p><p> </p><p>He pulls out the money to pay for them, but she clears her throat. "It is customary with the Rejuvenation Tea among others, to give a warning about its effects. On one hand, it revives a dead spirit both physically and mentally, it has been known to have side effects." I look at Nya, and frown. "What kind of side effects?" I ask, and she sighs. "Some users claim that their negative energy personifies as a shadowy creature. Although it has yet to be proven." I swallow. <em> Great, shadow demons are definitely in our future. </em> Jay forces a smile. "Heh, shadow monsters, noted." He pays her, and takes the bag of tea. "I must ask," the Tea Lady says, as we're leaving, "why exactly you would need Rejuvenation Tea. That was used mostly to relieve ailments of darkness." I nervously chuckle. "It's for a school assignment." I lie, not wanting to explain, or be in this shop any longer. The old lady shrugs. "Very well, be safe, dearies!" I nod, and usher Jay and Nya out the door. I sigh, and Nya raises an eyebrow at me.</p><p> </p><p>"It's for a school assignment? That's the best you got?" She asks, and I sigh. "How was I supposed to explain that you've had your soul veiled?" She shrugs. "Fair enough. But are we going to do this? I doubt you guys want to fight a shadow demon." <em> Not particularly. </em> I think, as I glance over at Jay. "I uh, <b> <em>have</em> </b> to know if it's truly impossible." Jay says, as he pulls out the Rejuvenation Tea. "'Eat tea leaves for best use.'" He reads a note on the bag. "What's the point of calling it tea then?" He asks, as he opens it up. Nya blinks. "We—we're doing that <b> <em>here</em> </b> ?" She asks, and Jay frowns. "Where else would we do this?" He asks. "Well if I'm going to be a potential shadow demon, is it a good idea to do it <b> <em>in</em> </b> the village? Where all the random bystanders are?" She says, and Jay frowns. "Oh, good point." He says, and walks down the road back towards the entrance of the village. I lag behind with Nya. "Worrying about the townspeople?" I comment. "I thought you didn't care about anyone or anything." I add, with a smug smile.</p><p> </p><p>She scoffs. "I don't. I figured <b> <em>you guys</em> </b> would care." I chuckle. " <b> <em>Suuuuure</em> </b> . That's why." I say with a grin. She glares at me, and I decide to drop it. We reach the edge of the village as the sun starts to set overhead. I sigh. Zane said they'd do better searching in the air, so I wasn't super surprised to see the Bounty flying above us, with its anchor down. I sigh. "You ready to do this, guys?" I ask, although I know for a fact that I'm not. Jay shrugs. "I mean, ready as I'll ever be. Nya? We don't have to do this if you don't want to." <em> Wow. That must've really hurt him to say. </em> Nya sighs. "Do it, but I should say that if I do change, get out of here." She says, the raspiness in voice that I have gotten used to disappearing. Jay holds out one of the leaves to her. "I'm not going to leave you." She looks at me, and takes the leaf. "Greenie, make sure he leaves if—" She says, and I nod. She puts the leaf into her mouth, and makes a face of disgust as she swallows it.</p><p> </p><p>Nya gasps, as dark ooze pours out of her mouth. Her grey skin darkens until it's completely black. Black horns force their way out of her forehead. Black, leathery wings rip through her shirt, her nails grow into long tendrils, her teeth become long and slender fangs, and I shudder. "J—Jay." I say, grabbing his shirt collar. <em> I need to get him out of here. </em> I drag him back, but he yanks his collar free. " <b> <em>NO. </em> </b> I'M NOT LEAVING." He says, as Nya gains protrusions from her shoulders and down her arms. "Jay, we <b> <em>have </em> </b> to go!" Jay marches towards Nya. "Lloyd, I can't. Go if you must, but I can't." He clenches his fists. "She's in there. I know it! I may be imperfect, and maybe I can't fix her, but I can't just run away when she needs me the most." He turns to me, and his eyes glow blue. I gasp. "Jay, your eyes…" He frowns, as electricity crackles around him. The blue electricity spins around him, creating a barrier around him. A beam of pure electricity forms, and Jay floats up. Nya screeches as the light shines down on her. "What's happening to me?!" Jay asks, as stray lightning shoots into the ground beside us. "Your True Potential." I whisper. I squinted at Nya, and the protrusions she had shattered. Nya grabs her head, and screams as the wings dissolve into nothing. I gasp. "Jay, I think the light from your electricity is destroying the shadows!" He laughs. "Ha-ha! How does that feel, demon?!" He yells down at Nya, shooting Lightning around her (not <b> <em>at</em> </b> her obviously). The horns disappear, and her skin lightens.</p><p> </p><p>She collapses, and starts to convulse on the ground. Jay gasps, and the beam disappears. Nya coughs, and Jay kneels down next to her. "N—Nya?" He says, fear creeping into his voice. She groans. "Jay?" She mumbles. Jay sighs, as her seizure stops. "What's happened? Where are we?" She asks, sitting up. "Easy there, Nya." Jay says. "How much do you remember?" I ask, walking over. "I remember being taken by those warriors, and uh, you guys f-fighting them, and then I saw this light and now we're here." I blink. "You don't remember <b> <em>anything</em> </b> from the past 2—well," I look up at the darkening sky, "3 days?" I ask, and she gasps. "It's been 3 days?!" She looks at Jay. "Yeah, looks like you'll have to be caught up on all of the things that have happened." Jay helps her stand. "Let's get onto the Bounty, Kai'll want to see you." Her eyes widen, and she nods. I yawn, and motion them towards the anchor. "Well, let's go." I say, and we climb up the anchor. As soon as I land on top of the ship, I collapse. "You okay?" Nya asks, and I groan. </p><p><br/>"I went on a long trek through a snowy forests, fought a robot, then some tree creatures, made the trek back, had to work through a hostage situation, deal with my evil father getting weapons that will spell doom for us, went shopping, had to deal with a shadow demon, and this is the first time I can lie down." Jay sighs. "Go to sleep, dude. Me and the guys will fill her in." I yawn again, and push myself to my feet. "Mm okay." I walk down below the  deck like some kind of Ninja Zombie. I collapse on the bed, and I sigh. <em> This is </em> <b>wayyy</b> <em> too much stress for one 16 year old. It's enough to kill a guy. </em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Okay, so this took a long time to finish. I struggled with recreating Jay's True Potential, but in the end I decided to just make my own version of it. Even though I would have preferred to keep it like it originally was.</p><p>Also Nya's corruption was a challenge to figure out how to fix, like I had major writer's block for it AND the True Potential stuff.</p><p>I think it came out okay, I hope it was enjoyable, because writing it was a pain, lol. ~Amazhang-Quartz.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I awaken to someone poking my neck. <em>Kai, I swear to the First Spinjitzu Master...</em> I groan, and grab the hand that poked me, and twist. "Ow!" The voice says, although it sounds way more feminine than I was expecting. I open my eyes, and roll onto my side. I see Nya cradling her arm, and Kai poking his head in the doorway, snickering. I sigh, and sit up. "Sorry, Nya. I thought you were Kai. I didn’t actually break it, did I?" She shakes her head. "Kai asked me to wake you…" I scoff. "I bet he forgot to mention that I <b><em>DO</em></b> not like being awakened." She nods. "He actually said you were rather docile when being awakened…" I stand up, and chuckle. "Did he now?" I glance at him, and he frowns. "Sorry?" He says, with a shrug. I walk over to him, and grab his arm. He whimpers, as I stare him in the eye. "Pull that kind of stunt, suffer the consequences." I say, slamming my foot onto his as hard as I humanly could. Judging by the shudder that went through the ship, I used my Earth strength. He winces, and grabs his foot. "Ouch, okay, I won’t pull something like that again." Nya pats her brother on the shoulder and laughs. "Learn your lesson, Kai?" He nods. "Yeah, um, did you <b><em>have</em></b> to use your earthquake powers?" Kai asks, and I scratch my neck. "I’ll be honest, that was an accident."</p><p> </p><p>He sighs. "I thought you could control earth well?" I scoff, and shake my head. "Honestly Kai? I'm flying by the seat of my pants." Both him and Nya frown. I bite my lip. "Was that a little too honest?" I ask, and they both nod. From the hallway, loud footsteps run towards us. I poke my head out to see Zane, who stops upon making eye contact with me. "Y-you okay, Zane?" I ask, and he walks up to me in a normal, calm manner. "I had the strangest dream." I raise an eyebrow. "Nindroids dream? Sleep, even?" I ask, and he sighs. "I haven't figured out the logistics of it yet, but yes, I can dream. My sleep however, is more of a low power mode." Nya pops her head out the doorway. "Enough on Nindroid anatomy, it hurts my head. What did you dream?" She asks. Zane nods. "I saw Garmadon and a dark figure heading into a volcano, with mist not unlike the type around Stiix." Kai gasps. "Surely that's just a dream, right?" He asks, and I sigh. "That sounds like a vision. What happened, Zane?" He swallows. "It appeared they were trying to merge the weapons, but there was an energy discharge, the weapons remained unfused. The dark figure in a raspy voice spoke of a catalyst, something that would stabilize the fusion of weapons." I chuckle. "That's one more chance to stop them. Do we know what this catalyst is, or where to locate it?" Zane nods. "They referred to it as the Stygian Blade. Research suggests it was found by Clutch Powers, a adventurer—" Someone gasps behind me. "The <b><em>Stygian</em></b> Blade?" Cole asks, as he walks closer.</p><p> </p><p>"You know it, Cole?" I ask, and he scoffs. "Know it? My dad's won it like 5 times." Nya frowns. "<b><em>Won</em> </b> it?" She asks. Cole nods. "Every year, my city holds a competition for performers around Ninjago. The winner gets to have the Stygian Blade also known as the Blade Cup for a year. My dad's quartet 'The Royal Blacksmiths' have won it 5 times." Zane frowns. "Then it seems we need to go to your homecity." Cole's eyes turned almost buglike. "<b><em>No</em></b>. We are <b> <em>not</em> </b> going to my hometown!" He protests. Kai grunts. "Why not? It could stop Garmadon from destroying Ninjago!" Cole sighs. "Kai! You know why I can't go back! I <b> <em>RAN</em> </b> away! I'll be a disgrace!" I frown. "Don't you want to stop my Father?" He sighs. "Yeah, obviously, but I can't face my father…" He looks down at his feet. I grab his shoulder. "I literally have the <b> <em>Lord of Evil</em> </b> as my father, and you refuse to see your dad because you didn't go into <b> <em>song and dance</em></b>?!" I snap. Cole bites his lip. "I know it's selfish, but I just can't do it… He'll know I've been lying in the letters I've sent him…" I scoff. "He'll find out eventually. He should hear it from you." Zane says, in a much gentler voice. He pushes past me, and the others. "Go without me. I can't do this." I grit my teeth, and march up to him, and grab his shirt. "You can't just duck out when things get too hard, Cole." I say, rage boiling throughout my body. <em> If I have to fight my own father, he can face his father. That's only fair. </em></p><p> </p><p>"Lloyd, you're steaming." Kai says, and I look down, and sure enough, steam escapes from my nose. I release Cole's shirt, and I sigh. "Lloyd." Zane says, grabbing my arm. "Why don't you go upstairs to Jay? You need to take a breather." I shove Zane's hand off me, and growl. "I'm <b><em>fine</em></b>." I fume, and Zane shakes his head. "You are too emotionally compromised for this. You need to leave. We'll work this out." I give Cole my best glare, and storm up the ladder to the main deck. <em>"You're too emotionally compromised", blah-blah-blah. Give me a break.</em> I walk into the bridge, and groan. Jay turns and smiles at me. "Hey, you okay?" He asks, and I shrug. I explain what happened, and he chuckles. "I see the problem." He motions me over to him, and although I'm confused, I walk up to him. "The problem is you only see things from your perspective." I groan. "HE'S BEING SELFISH AND INCONSIDERATE!" I yell, and Jay sighs. "Maybe so, but think about it from his perspective, Lloyd. He's sacrificing so much personally to help you, he isn't against you, in fact it sounds like he made a compromise to this issue." I slam my fist against the bridge's console. "Leaving him behind isn’t gonna help us! I mean, it’d be easier to talk to his dad if we had him as a contact, right?"</p><p> </p><p>Jay shrugs. "You may be right, but you can’t rush something like this. Clearly he is struggling, and forcing him to face his father is only going to make things worse." Jay says, and I bite my lip. "Also, you are being a tad selfish too, Lloyd." He comments, and I scoff. "Why's that? All I'm asking for is help to save our whole <b><em>country</em></b>! That's a selfless goal, right?" Jay nods. "Yes, but it is also a personal thing. Lord Garmadon is your father, have you stopped to think that your reasons for defeating him are less about Ninjago, and more about <b><em>him</em></b>?" I stroke my chin. "I guess that's true. But, is it wrong for me to want to stop my father?" Jay shakes his head. "I'm not saying that fighting your father is wrong, I'm just establishing that you and Cole are waging similar fights. It's unfair to Cole for you to say his battle is less important than yours." <em>Yikes, when you put it like that…</em> I think. "I'm a real jerk, aren't I?" I say, and Jay rubs my shoulder. "No, you made a mistake, and let your anger get the better of you. That's a normal human struggle. However, I do think you should apologize to Cole." I nod. "Okay. Thanks for talking some sense into me, Jay." He grins. "Happy to help!"</p><p> </p><p>I walk towards the door. "I'm going to go find him and apologize." I say, and Jay smiles. "Alright, I'll be up here if anyone needs me." I give him two thumbs up, and head back downstairs. (Or would it be "below deck"? I don't know). I walk down the corridor, and I see Cole sitting on one the bunk beds, holding a photo in his hands. I knock on the door frame. "Cole?" I say, hoping that I won't upset him. He looks up, and sighs. "Come to scold me more? Call me a coward, maybe?" I sigh. "No, Cole. I've come to apologize." I say, still standing in the doorway. "May I come in?" I add, not wanting to overstep any boundaries. He nods, but as I walk in he frowns. "You're here to apologize? Why?" He asks, and I fold my hands. "Jay pointed out that I shouldn't judge you or find your struggle with your father any less than mine. It's unfair to you, and I was wrong. So I'm sorry." He sets the photo onto the bed beside him. "No, you were right. I can't hide from my battles. Deep down I've always known that this would come back to bite me, I just refused to accept it. Your dad is trying to destroy Ninjago, yet you're brave enough to face him… what's my excuse?" He stands up. "I said I would trust you, and follow behind you, so it's time that I pulled my weight in this fight." I bow my head, showing my respect for his help. "Are you sure you want to come?" I say, and he chuckles. "Aw, Lloyd! First you were all 'you need to stop slacking' and now you're like 'you don't have to do it!' Make up your mind, Green Bean!" He says, with a smile. I roll my eyes. "I know, I just don't want to pressure you. Also, I do not like that nickname." He smirks. "Too bad, Green Bean! You're stuck with it!" He walks up to me and punches my arm, which makes me wince. "That hurt." I mumble, and he snickers.</p><p> </p><p>I sigh. "Let's just get the others and get ready to get this catalyst thing." I say, and he nods. "Ten four, Lloyd." He says, walking around me, and heads off to who knows where. I walk off after him, and manage to catch up with him as he gathers Zane, Kai, and Nya to head up to the bridge. We head up, and Cole and Zane work out the coordinates, and we head off to Cole's hometown. <em> What if we get there too late? What if Father already got there? Who knows how long ago that vision Zane saw was! </em> Kai walks up behind me. "You good, Lloyd?" He asks, pointing above me. I glance up, to see snowflakes fluttering around my head. I squeeze my eyes shut. <em> I need a better handle on my emotions, or my elemental power is gonna take me over and potentially hurt someone. </em> I sigh, and look at my feet. "It's just, I feel like we've made no progress. Like we're no closer to stopping Father." He wraps his arm around me. "I wouldn't say that." He says. "You can use all four of the elemental powers, Jay and Zane reached their full potentials, I can do that tornado thing, and we are on the way to get that blade to stop them." I shake my head. "What if they already have it?" I say, and he groans. "I have a stinking suspicion we'd know if they did." He points out. "Y'know, I asked Sensei Wu once what happens if you get beaten, and your opponent wins." I raise an eyebrow. "Yeah? What did he say?" He smiles. "He told me that a ninja never quits, no matter what is thrown at them."</p><p> </p><p>    I frown. "Is that why you're so determined to be a great ninja?" I ask, remembering what he said to Cole about becoming the best ninja. He shrugs. "Partly, but the other reason is to prove to myself that I'm cut out for this. That I'm not just some orphan kid playing hero." I chuckle. "I can relate to that." I say, and he scoffs. "But you're the Green Dragon! You <b> <em>are</em> </b> a hero. You know all those cool ninja moves! You are super powerful and strong!" I scratch my head. "Maybe so, but right now I'm way over my head. With my Dad, the Overlord and all of this dark magic stuff…" I groan. "I just fought low level thugs, Kai. I know nothing about how to defeat my father." Kai pats my shoulder. "Destiny chose you to be the Green Ninja, Lloyd. I'm sure you'll figure out a way to beat him." He wanders over to Nya and Jay—who are sitting awfully close to each other—and squeezes between them. I roll my eyes at that, and take a large intake of breath. <em> But what if Destiny chose wrong? What if—? </em> I grit my teeth. <em> No. I </em> <b>have</b> <em> to believe that Kai is right. My brain will split apart if I come up with anymore what ifs. </em></p><p>   </p><p>    We arrived, and Zane said it would be a good idea if all 6 of us went to find the blade. Cole guides us through the streets, ducking his head every time a person looks in our direction. Although he's the tallest of us—being 6 feet tall—as he walks down the streets, he may as well have been 2 feet tall. He stops in front of a house, and takes a deep breath. "We're here." He says, reaching out to knock on the door. "Just a moment!" A voice inside says. After a short while, the door opens. A middle aged man, with black slicked hair to the left and a mustache, steps out. "Huh-hey, Dad!" Cole says, sounding very uncomfortable. He squints at us. "Are you too good for the doorbell?" Cole's Dad asks, and slams the door shut. I blink. "Uh…?" Cole says, frowning. "Use the bell, son." He says through the door. Cole groans, and pushes the bell. A chorus of four voices sing "welcome". I cringe. <em> I can see why Cole wouldn't want to push it. </em> The door opens, and Cole's Dad smiles. "Cole! It's so good to see you!" He says, pulling Cole into a hug. Cole's body goes rigid, but he manages to wrap his arms around him. His dad releases him, and motions to us. "Who are these people?" Cole looks at us, and bites his lip. "They're my, uh, cl-classmates! Y-yeah! Uh, we are doing a project on the Blade Cup, and well, you know a lot about it, so uh—" His father waves us in. "Say no more, come on in." We all head inside. I grab Cole's arm. "You're not going to tell him?" I whisper. He bites his lip. "I panicked." He mumbles. I nod, understanding that him even being here was challenging for him. <em> He'll get there on his own time. </em> I tell myself. <em> At least I hope so. </em></p><p> </p><p>    "So, are ya gonna introduce me to your friends, Cole?" He asks once we're sitting down in the living room. Cole is standing behind the couch, perhaps to give him some distance from his father, Zane sits on the far right end, and Jay and Nya try to sit next to each other, but Kai again shoves himself between them. I sit on the armrest next to an irate Jay. Cole sighs. "Yeah, um, this is Zane." He says, pointing to him. "Greetings." Zane says, with a smile. <em>Thank goodness he looks human, Cole's dad is probably not ready to hear about Nindroids.</em> "This is Kai, and his sister Nya." They both wave. "And that's Lloyd." He finishes. I bow my head respectfully. "I'm Cole's dad, but feel free to call me 'Lou.'" He says. "Now that introductions are out of the way, what did you want to know about the Blade Cup?" Lou asks. Kai clears his throat. "How does one acquire it?" He asks, and Lou scoffs. "You can't just <b><em>acquire</em></b> it. You have to<b><em> win</em></b> it. In the <em>Ninjago Talent Show</em>." Lou sighs. "Unfortunately, I cannot compete this year. On the account that one of my quartet mates is in the hospital." Nya frowns. "When is the talent show supposed to take place?" She asks. Lou groans. "Tomorrow afternoon." Jay gasps. "We should enter it!" He exclaims. Cole looks as pale as a ghost. I tap Jay's shoulder. "Is that a good idea?" I ask, for Cole sake. Lou stands. "Yes! That's perfect! Cole, you can take in your father's legacy, and become the frontman for 'New Royal Blacksmiths!'" Cole laughs, shooting a glare at Jay. "We're just here to learn about the Blade, we don't need—" Lou scoffs. "Nonsense! You'd surely get a good grade if you won it, right?"</p><p> </p><p>    Cole runs his hand through his hair. "I guess." He mutters, and Jay—who must be completely oblivious to Cole's reluctance—jumps up and grins. "Yeah, it'll be great! I can see it now!" Kai nods. "I think it's a good idea too." He says, making Cole shrink into the shadows more so than before. Zane nods. "That does seem to be a plausible plan." Nya also seems to be in agreement. The four of them and Lou start to plan out ways to win the contest. I walk up to Cole, who's biting his nails in the corner of the room. It is a rather sad sight, seeing the athletic 6 foot teen cowering in the corner, while biting his nails. "Are you okay?" I ask, and he shakes his head. "I can't sing to save my life, Lloyd!" He says, looking over at my father. "I can't disappoint my father…" I nod. "We'll figure something out, okay? Unfortunately, I can't really see an alternative." Cole swallows. "We could steal it." He whispers. I gasp. "What, are you crazy?! Absolutely not! Stealing is wrong!" I say, not believing my ears. "It's for the greater good, though." I growl, and the smallest tremble goes through the ground. "<b> <em>NO</em> </b> . I will <b> <em>not</em> </b> entertain that concept." He folds his arms. "I think it's a viable option. We should at least suggest it to the team." He says, and I sigh. "That's just an excuse to run from your past!" I say, hoping to get him out of his funk.</p><p> </p><p>    Jay walks over. "Hey guys! We've come up with a foolproof plan!" He says, bouncing up and down with excitement. Cole groans. "What is it, Jay?" Jay starts to explain the plan is. Cole is supposed to do a move called the Triple Tiger Sashay, while Nya oputed to do background stuff and we'll be background dancers. (Which sounds like an absolute nightmare).  Cole gasps. "Hold up, he wants to do the Triple Tiger Sashay?!?" He says, somehow even paler than before. "What's the Triple Tiger Sashay?" I ask, and he scoffs. "Only the hardest dance move to do ever!" Lou seems to overhear this, and nods. "It's true, no one has completed it before." I frown, not liking this one bit. "Which is why you <b> <em>need</em> </b> to do it, Son! It'll be the perfect finale. Well, so long as you don't need it up again." Cole looks like he's about to explode. "Of course I failed it, Dad! I was <b> <em>seven</em> </b> !" He says, in exasperation. Lou didn't seem to want to hear it. "Son, you <b> <em>have</em> </b> to do it." I swallow down some bile. "Is there no other way to win the contest?" I ask, and Lou shakes his head. "Cole doing the Triple Tiger Sashay is the only way you'll get any attention. It <b> <em>has</em> </b> to happen." Cole clenches his fists, takes a deep breath, and unfurls his fists.</p><p> </p><p>    "Fine." He says, and I note that a similar tremor to the one I made earlier runs through the room. "I'll do it." Lou claps his hands. "That's my boy! Come! We need to practice and choreograph!" He says, and the 6 of us follow him into what I can assume is a dance studio. There is a mirror that lines the back wall, with a railing in the middle. The floor is covered in grey mats, although in the cracks between mats, I can see hardwood flooring. It took about 10 seconds for Lou to realize that I cannot dance at <b><em>ALL</em></b>. He had me sit that out. "Bop til ya drop! Shake it til ya break it! Move it til ya lose it! Spin it til ya win it!" The four ninja—since me and Nya weren't going to dance—sing as they try to do a choreographed dance Lou came up with. Lou groans. "Stop! Stop! Stop!" He cries, waving his arms in the air for them to stop. "Ugh. If my ears weren't attached to my head, they'd be running away! Kai, love the energy, hate the hair." He hits Kai on the head with his cane. Kai cries out in pain. "Jay," he continues. "You're giving a lot, but I need more." He turns to Zane. "Zane, you're like a machine. Don't change anything." Zane smirks, and I try to stifle my snicker. <em>If only he knew…</em> "And Cole, <b><em>try</em></b> to act like you wanna be here." He finishes, and Jay frowns.</p><p> </p><p>"He's worse than Sensei Wu." He comments. As someone who only had a day's worth of teaching from him, I decided he'd know better than me. After some embarrassing attempts at dancing, the guys seem to pick it up, and are doing a fairly decent job. (Although I'm not one to talk, I'm not even participating). We all decide to turn in for the night, but Lou insists we stay with him. He got some takeout and told us he was going to lie down, but to talk to him if we needed anything. While I was just gonna have us go back to the Bounty, I figured this was fine. Kai passes out on one of the couches, Jay somehow got the guest room, Zane (as he doesn't really sleep) just sat in the living room corner to power off. Cole got his old room (duh) I got the other couch, and Lou got Nya an old mattress to sleep on. We however decide to stay downstairs for a while. "How are you feeling?" I ask Cole, as he sits on the couch next to me. He scoffs. "That's a loaded question." He runs his hand through his hair. "I'm entering a talent show to get a blade that could save Ninjago, but to that I have to complete an impossible dance move, and deal with the potential disownment if I fail. Does that answer your question?" I frown.</p><p> </p><p>"I think you can do it, Cole." Kai says, apparently not asleep like I had assumed. Cole shakes his head. "Can we just steal it, please, Lloyd?" Cole asks, and I groan. "No, Cole! I already told you—" Kai leans forward. "You're wanting to steal it?" He asks, and Cole nods. "Yeah, for the greater good, right?" He shrugs it off. "It's out of the question! Being a ninja means having honor. If we bend the rules every time it suits us, will honor be even associated with us?" Cole jumps up, perking Jay's attention, and he walks over. "Who cares about honor?! What we need right now is the Blade! We go to the theater, sneak our way into the backroom, bypass whatever defenses they have on the Cup, and we leave doing the 'get-me-out-of-this-nuthouse-and-burn-these-memories-from-my-head' dance!" The floorboards creak. "Just gonna grab my—what?" Lou says, walking down the stairs. Cole turns to face him. "You… you want to <b><em>steal</em></b> it?!" He says, and Cole sighs. "Dad, I didn't mean for you to hear that, but—but I'm glad you did. There's something I've been wanting to tell you. All these years, I haven't been training to be a singer or a dancer. I found something new that I'm really good at. Dad…"</p><p><br/>He clears his throat. "I'm a ninja." Lou gasps. "And the truth is, if we don't steal that Stygian—I mean, Blade Cup—there's other people that will. Bad people. We need it to save the world. I know how ridiculous this sounds, but I'm proud of who I am, and I want you to be proud of me, too!" He says, and Lou's eyebrows furrow and he frowns. "I can't be proud of any son who thinks <b><em>stealing</em></b> is right. And I'm not gonna wait around to watch you make a mockery of our family's legacy." Cole reaches his hand out. Lou turns his back. "Dad, I—" Lou walks back upstairs. "You can stay the night, but from now on, you are <b><em>not</em></b> my son." He says, from the top of the stairs. Cole groans. "I'm sure he didn't mean that." Kai says, and Jay frowns. "Maybe if he saw you in action?" Jay suggests, and Cole shakes his head. "No, it's—it's okay. I saw it coming."<span> He sighs. </span><span>"Guess now it doesn't matter how we get the Blade."</span><span> He mumbles. I start to follow him, but Kai stops me.</span></p><p> </p><p><span>"He needs his space."</span><span> Kai says. I swallow. </span><span>"But this is kind of my fault!"</span><span> I protest. </span><span>"I pushed him to come here!"</span><span> Jay scoffs. </span><span>"Lloyd! It's not your fault. Your powers don't include foresight! There was no way to know </span><b><em>any</em></b><span> of that."</span><span> I nod. </span><span>"I still feel awful…" </span><span>I say, sinking deeper into the couch. Kai sighs. </span><span>"Unfortunately, I don't think we can do anything tonight."</span><span> I begrudgingly nod. "</span><span>Right, guess we have to go to bed with that awkward thing in mind."</span><span> They go to their respective rooms (or whatever counts as a "bed" at least). And the next morning, everyone gathers in the living room. Cole yawns, and I pull him aside. </span><span>"Feeling</span><b><em> any</em></b> <span>better?" </span><span>I ask, and he shrugs. </span><span>"Doesn't matter, we need the Blade."</span><span> I sigh. </span><em><span>This must've hit him hard. It's probably for the best that I don't keep pushing for him to talk.</span></em> <span>Zane comes over, arms folded behind his back. </span><span>"I do have some news."</span><span> I raise an eyebrow. </span><span>"Good news?"</span><span> I ask, hopefully. Zane frowns. </span><span>"I am not sure. I got a vision last night about Garmadon and the Overlord."</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I swallow. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Great, what got Cole into this mess.</span>
  </em>
  <span> "Go on, Zane."</span>
  <span> I say, and he clears his throat. </span>
  <span>"They were in this Temple or Tomb, and they sent a Stone Warrior over a set of traps, only to find at the end of it, the blade was not there."</span>
  <span> I sigh. </span>
  <span>"So they don't have it yet?" </span>
  <span>Zane nods. </span>
  <span>"As far as I know. But they do know where to find it. So we should get going soon."</span>
  <span> I sigh. </span>
  <span>"Alright, you up for this, Cole?"</span>
  <span> He crosses his arms. </span>
  <span>"Let's get this over with, I guess."</span>
  <span> I bite my lip. Lou notices we're leaving, but if he wanted to say something, he didn't. Cole leads us to the theater, the ninja go behind the stage to do more practice before the performance. </span>
  <span>"We're still doing the performance?"</span>
  <span> Nya asks me, and I shrug. </span>
  <span>"What else can we do?"</span>
  <span> I ask, and she can't find an answer. The Talent Show was supposed to start at 11:30 am, so we sat down to wait. The judges come in soon after. One of them looks </span>
  <b>
    <em>very</em>
  </b>
  <span> familiar. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I bet my father isn't going to have a bias towards our performance.</span>
  </em>
  <span> I pull up my jacket's hood. </span>
  <span>"Great, we got company." </span>
  <span>I say to Nya, who spies him too. </span>
  <span>"We need to tell the others!"</span>
  <span> She says, and I shake my head. </span>
  <span>"There's no time, besides they probably already know."</span>
  <span> She sighs. </span>
  <span>"Is there nothing we can do?" </span>
  <span>I shrug. </span>
  <span>"Guess keep an eye on him and the trophy?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The other judges look at Father skeptically. </span>
  <span>"I can't help it if I offend anyone. My only job will be to tell the truth." </span>
  <span>Father is saying. He is sitting at the judge's table wearing a fake beard. </span>
  <span>"You don't look anything like your photo." </span>
  <span>One of the judges comments. </span>
  <span>"Ah, sadly, but the camera adds a few pounds. I'm just happy to have the opportunity to judge this prestigious competition."</span>
  <span> He responds, and I roll my eyes. </span>
  <em>
    <span>And got four arms.</span>
  </em>
  <span> The Blade Cup is brought out. </span>
  <span>"The Stygian blade!"</span>
  <span> Father says, and the second judge frowns. </span>
  <span>"Uh, yeah. You mean the </span>
  <b>
    <em>Blade Cup</em>
  </b>
  <span>." </span>
  <span>Father waves his hand dismissively. </span>
  <span>"Yes, yes. Whatever."</span>
  <span> He says, and I overhear the ninja talking.</span>
</p><p><span>"It looks like we're not the only ones planning to get the Blade Cup. Garmadon's here."</span><span> Kai says, poking his head through the stage curtain. </span><span>"This complicates things."</span><span> Zane says, from nearby Kai.</span> <span>"Then I say we make our move."</span><span> Jay says, not as quietly as Zane or Kai.</span><span> "We can't risk losing out again. I think it'd be easier to steal it now."</span></p><p> </p><p><span>"We're not gonna steal it. We're gonna win this competition, but we're gonna do it </span><b><em>our</em></b><span> way."</span><span> I hear Cole say, with confidence. </span><em><span>Yes, Cole! You can do it.</span></em> <span>I think, glad that he is at least trying to do the right thing, even though his father won't see it. I look at Nya, only to find her seat vacant. I groan. </span><span>"Nya?" </span><span>I whisper. </span><span>"Nya, where did you go?!" </span><span>She pops over the seat behind me. </span><span>"Calm down, Lloyd. I'm right here." </span><span>I sigh. </span><span>"Is sneaking around a good idea? What if Father sees you?"</span><span> She shrugs, climbing over the seat. </span><span>"He knows we're here. That Overlord guy told him."</span><span> I frown. </span><span>"You know this how?"</span><span> I ask, incredulously. She chuckles. </span><span>"I did some recon when you were staring off into space." </span><span>I sigh. </span><span>"I wasn't staring—"</span><span> I stop myself, as she shoves a device into my hand. </span><span>"I also planted a tracker on the cup, in case things go wrong."</span> <span>I mentally facepalm. </span><em><span>Why didn't</span></em><b> I</b><em><span> think about something like that?!?</span></em></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She grins, perhaps noting my irritation (and admiration that she managed to pull that all off so quickly and quietly). </span>
  <span>"Not bad for the tag along girl, right?"</span>
  <span> She says, and I nod. </span>
  <span>"Uh, yeah."</span>
  <span> I say dumbly. The show starts, with various people singing, dancing, and even a dog farting out the Ninjago National Anthem. </span>
  <span>"And now,"</span>
  <span> the announcer says. </span>
  <span>"The Treble Makers!"</span>
  <span> Four stone warriors walk onto the stage. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Are they really trying to get the Cup legit? </span>
  </em>
  <span>They sing some version of "My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean", and Father glares at the other judges who had only given the performance a 6. They flip their cards to be 9's. Nya growls. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Nevermind. </span>
  </em>
  <span>"And last but not least, The Royal Blacksmith—Uh, hold on. Uh, this just in, there's been a switch. Taking the stage next is Spin Harmony!"</span>
  <span> The announcer says. There's a silence. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Where are they? Did Father send out some warriors to stop them? </span>
  </em>
  <span>"Last call for Spin Harmony!"</span>
  <span> The announcer calls out. </span>
  <span>"Let's do this, for Cole!"</span>
  <span> Jay says, and I relax. The other ninja make similar affirmatives. </span>
  <span>"I'm glad you guys are my friends. Let's do this!"</span>
  <span> Cole says. </span>
  <span>"Well, it looks like the last act is no longer performing. Haha, that means I can give this to the winners—"</span>
  <span> Father tries to say, but the announcer interrupts.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Ladies and gentlemen, Spin Harmony!"</span>
  <span> The crowd cheers.From above Stone Warriors jump down. Father orders them to attack the ninja. I start to stand, but Cole rushes the three of them. He jumps onto the head of the first, punches the head of the second, and slams his head into the final one. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Whoa. What on Earth was that?!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Everyone but Father's crew. cheer. </span>
  <span>"Oh, he did it! The Triple Tiger Sashay! He's danced the impossible!"</span>
  <span> The announcer cries. The judges give them a 10 but Father gives a 0. The audience boos him. Nya—who snuck over there again, apparently—changes the scorecard by writing a 1 on his scorecard, turning it into a 10. The crowd cheers again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"What? Wait. I didn't write that!"</span>
  <span> Father protests. </span>
  <span>"It's a perfect score! Spin Harmony wins the Blade Cup!"</span>
  <span> The announcer says. </span>
  <span>"Oh, this is a travesty of epic proportions! I demand for there to be a recount!"</span>
  <span> Father insists. I stifle a snicker. I glance at the stage, and I see Cole searching the audience for his dad, but his seat is empty. He groans. I walk up to the stage as the announcer hands Cole the trophy. </span>
  <span>"I've never felt more alive!"</span>
  <span> Zane says. </span>
  <span>"Hahaha! We did it!"</span>
  <span> Jay says, and I grin. </span>
  <span>"I told you you could do it, Cole!!" </span>
  <span>I say, everyone smiles. </span>
  <span>"Yeah, Cole did it. Because of you, Ninjago will sleep safely tonight."</span>
  <span> Kai says, and Cole turns away. </span>
  <span>"Thanks, but go on and celebrate without me. Winning this doesn't feel the same without my dad being able to—"</span>
  <span> He starts to walk away. </span>
  <span>"Cole!"</span>
  <span> I hear Lou say. </span>
  <span>"Dad?!"</span>
  <span> Cole says, with obvious surprise. </span>
  <span>"I saw it all, son. I saw it all."</span>
  <span> They embrace.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You saw me dance?"</span>
  <span> Cole asks, and Lou nods. </span>
  <span>"More importantly, I saw you fight. Those creatures were up to no good, trying to steal the show, and I saw you stand up for what is right. I was wrong. I shouldn't have pushed you so hard to follow in my footsteps. Everyone is born with a special talent inside that's just been waiting to get out. And you were born to be a Ninja."</span>
  <span> Cole sighs. </span>
  <span>"You're not mad?"</span>
  <span> Lou shakes his head. </span>
  <span>"How can I be? My son's a hero!" </span>
  <span>I smile. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Well, at least that worked out. </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>"</span>
  </em>
  <span>Ehh, sorry to interrupt your little family reunion, but did you know," </span>
  <span>he rips off the beard.</span>
  <span> "It's me, Garmadon!" </span>
  <span>Cole scoffs. </span>
  <span>"You couldn't fool us, Garmadon!"</span>
  <span> Cole says. Father chuckles. </span>
  <span>"Oh, good! I didn't want to miss our big </span>
  <b>
    <em>show stopper</em>
  </b>
  <span>."</span>
  <span> Two Stone Warriors push a crate and knock over stage lights. Lou screams. </span>
  <span>"Dad!"</span>
  <span> Cole yells. He jumps in after him. Father laughs as he escapes with the Blade Cup—that Cole was holding—while we cough from all of the dust.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <span>"They took the Stygian Blade!"</span>
  <span> Jay says. </span>
  <span>"Cole!"</span>
  <span> Kai says, running to his friend. As we gather around the pile, we notice the area Cole is in is glowing. </span>
  <span>"He found his True Potential."</span>
  <span> Zane says. Cole grunts while lifting up the debris with his newfound powers. </span>
  <span>"Wha-what? How did we survive that? Son?" </span>
  <span>Lou asks, looking up at his son. </span>
  <span>"Cole's found his True Potential. His relationship with his father must have been holding him back!" </span>
  <span>Zane remarks. </span>
  <span>"He's indestructible!" </span>
  <span>Jay says, with a wide grin. </span>
  <span>"Ugh, great. So now </span>
  <b>
    <em>I'm</em>
  </b>
  <span> the only one who hasn't figured out my special power!"</span>
  <span> Cole stops shining and returns to normal. </span>
  <span>"Is everyone alright? What just happened?"</span>
  <span> Cole says, being winded. </span>
  <span>"We're all okay, son."</span>
  <span> Lou says. </span>
  <span>"We lost the blade though!"</span>
  <span> Jay whines. Nya grins. </span>
  <span>"No we didn't. I put a tracker on it."</span>
  <span> Jay gasps. </span>
  <span>"I love you."</span>
  <span> He mumbles. Nya smiles. </span>
  <span>"Yeah, I know."</span>
  <span> Kai gags in the background, making us all laugh.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So if only I knew that you can get the episode transcripts when I was doing Jay and Zane's True Potentials! That would've been helpful. (Although I kinda did my own thing with Jay's).</p><p>Last is Kai's! Hopefully that'll come out soon! (But knowing me, probably not). I wish I could make myself write more, but *shrugs* what can you do?</p><p>I have an idea of how to make Kai's work with my story, so we'll see how it goes! ~Amazhang Quartz.</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This was a story idea I had ages ago (like pre-Ninjago Movie long ago). I had only seen to Season 7, so I did a bit of a rewatch recently. (I only finished up to Sons of Garmadon before stopping again, oops...)</p><p>It made me want to write this for myself, but it's low-key decent? So I decided to dump the chapters I've written to Ao3. *Shrugs*</p><p>I owe a lot to Ninjago with my writing, as my first stories were about Ninjago. (High-key trash fanfics, but still).</p><p>If this fanfic is cringey, sorry. I kind of made things up as I went..</p><p>~Amazhang Quartz</p></blockquote></div></div>
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